Swimmer Sun Yang Wins Title After Four-Year Ban
China – Sun Yang, the 33-year-old swimmer and three-time Olympic gold medalist, clinched victory in the men’s 400m freestyle at the national championships, marking his return to competition after a four-year ban.
Sun’s suspension ended in May 2024, and he made his comeback on August 25 at the national championships in Hefei, Anhui Province, China. In the morning heats, he clocked a time of 3 minutes 54.98 seconds. During the final, he improved his performance, finishing first with a time of 3 minutes 49.58 seconds. However, both times are still below the standards set by the eight swimmers who reached the final at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the slowest time was 3 minutes 47 seconds.
Despite this, Sun Yang was overcome with emotion and broke down in tears after both races, as this marked his first competitive appearance following his four-year ban for doping from 2020 to 2024. The swimmer was accused of smashing a vial containing his doping sample in September 2018, initially resulting in an eight-year ban. However, after an appeal, the ban was reduced to four years.
Although the ban seemed to signal the end of his career, Sun remains determined to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics when he will be 37 years old. “If given the opportunity to compete at the 2028 Olympics, I will do everything in my power to seize it,” he stated on CCTV.
Sun also expressed that he believes he can further improve his time in the 400m freestyle. “After four years of absence and without serious training, I couldn’t fully control the race pace,” he added. “But this is a good start, and I’m satisfied with the result.”
However, according to Chinese anti-doping regulations, Sun will not be eligible to represent China in international competitions. As per the rules established in 2021, athletes who have been banned for more than one year due to doping violations are no longer allowed to compete on the national team.
Sun Yang is the first male swimmer from China to win an Olympic gold medal, achieving this in the 400m freestyle at the 2012 London Olympics. He also won gold in the 1500m freestyle in London and the 200m freestyle at the 2016 Rio Olympics, becoming the first male swimmer in history to win Olympic and World Championship gold in every freestyle distance. NBC News even dubbed Sun Yang as the greatest male freestyle swimmer of all time.
