What happened to Sun Yang? Chinese swimmer to miss Tokyo Olympics

China's Sun Yang will have to sit out another Olympics. While it looked like the Chinese icon had a shot at the Tokyo Olympics, he will have to wait four more years after Tokyo 2020. While his doping ban has been reduced, the next time he will be allowed to participate in the Olympics will be when he is 32 years old. 

What happened to Sun Yang? Sun Yang doping ban

Earlier, Yang was facing an eight-year ban. According to the new judges' panel at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the 29-year-old star is now banned for four years and three months. By the time he serves his ban, he will be 32 years old and might be able to return for the 2024 Paris Olympics. While the new decision does not give him the opportunity to defend his 200-meter freestyle title, his ban was dated back to February 2020. This means a 32-year-old Yang can probably represent China in the Olympics in 2024. 

As per reports, the judges stated that the swimmer was reckless, and did not let the anti-doping authorities to leave his house with blood samples. The charges levied were for "tampering" with doping control, and not letting them take his sample. The 29-year-old denied this and had his original ban of eight years reverted after an appeal to Switzerland's supreme court. 

BREAKING: Chinese star swimmer Sun Yang banned for 4 years, 3 months, will miss Tokyo Olympics.

— AP Sports (@AP_Sports) June 22, 2021

The Tokyo Olympics will be opening on July 23, prior to which different judges conducted a retrial last month. Reports add that the original panel of judges at CAS had the chairman make anti-Chinese comments on social media – which affected the verdict. This time, Sun's legal team from Geneva was aided by other lawyers. 

This case in particular revolves around them not obtaining blood and urine from Sun after a team showed up at his house in China (September 2018) unannounced to take the sample. After he asked for credentials, there was some confrontation. Later, Sun told security personnel to smash the vial of blood – not letting them take it for testing. 

After the incident, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed to CAS. A ban was requested, this time for two to eight years. Previously, Sun Yang has served a two-month ban in 2014. This one was brought into action by the Chinese authorities after he tested positive for a stimulant. 

“The decision by the Swiss Federal Tribunal to set aside the (original) CAS award was limited to a challenge made against the chair of the CAS panel and had nothing to do with the substance of this case,” said WADA director general Olivier Niggli. The first hearing in 2019 was requested by Sun himself and had lasted for 10 hours. 

Sun is one of the most successful swimmers and is the first Chinese swimmer to win Olympic Gold (2012). He even won at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janerio, where other athletes called him a cheater and did not even stand alongside him at the podium. He has also bagged 11 Gold medals in five consecutive world championships (2011-2019). 

When was the Chinese swimmer banned?

• Yang's first trial was held in 2019, where he received an eight-year sanction. 

(Image credits: AP)