https://www.scmp.com/rss/501547/feed Sun Yang is a leading Chinese swimmer who has won Olympic and world titles. He is also a world record-holder. In 2012, he became the first Chinese man to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming, and is the first male swimmer in history to earn Olympic and World Championship gold medals at every freestyle distance from 200m to 1,500m. A three-time Olympic gold medalist and nine-time world champion, he is also the most decorated Chinese swimmer in history. Never far from controversy, Sun was banned... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Ambrose Li,Paul McNamara Ambrose Li,Paul McNamara The National Games has been more than a first for co-hosts Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau; it has also marked the emergence of the stars of the future. And as well as the passing of the physical torch from the Greater Bay Area to Hunan, which will stage the 2029 Games, there was the passing of the metaphorical one between generations. While the likes of Ma Long and Sun Yang, and even Pan Zhanle, grapple with the fading of their powers, those who will replace them have been stealing the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3333742/national-games-new-generation-stars-set-shine-asian-games-olympics-and-beyond?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3333742/national-games-new-generation-stars-set-shine-asian-games-olympics-and-beyond?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Nov 2025 23:00:30 +0000 Wynna Wong Wynna Wong The National Games have long been billed as a proving ground for China’s new wave of athletes as the competition cycle gears up for the next Olympics, and for rising star swimmer Zhang Zhanshuo, this year’s event has become a definitive coronation. The 15th edition of the National Games has seen the 18-year-old from Shandong sweep three major gold medals so far, including the men’s 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle events, as he establishes dominance in the middle- and long-distance categories,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3332929/national-games-3-races-still-go-zhang-zhanshuo-can-already-be-crowned-swim-king?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3332929/national-games-3-races-still-go-zhang-zhanshuo-can-already-be-crowned-swim-king?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Nov 2025 13:00:10 +0000 Wynna Wong,Tom Bell Wynna Wong,Tom Bell The National Games’ swimming events began in Shenzhen on Monday with a highly anticipated clash of generations between Pan Zhanle and Sun Yang – but both were put in the shade by a rising star. Pan and Sun, two of China’s most talked-about swimmers of recent years, earned places in men’s 400 metres freestyle final, but neither mounted a challenge for the podium and it was 18-year-old Zhang Zhanshuo who took gold, in record-breaking fashion. Zhang clocked three minutes and 42.82 seconds to smash... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3332244/national-games-zhang-18-upstages-pan-zhanle-sun-yang-pan-wins-relay-gold?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3332244/national-games-zhang-18-upstages-pan-zhanle-sun-yang-pan-wins-relay-gold?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Nov 2025 13:44:29 +0000 Lars Hamer Lars Hamer Three days ahead of his 20th birthday, Pan Zhanle of China produced a swim at the Paris Olympics that catapulted him to Olympic gold and international attention. Pan smashed his own world record in the 100m freestyle, his time of 46.40 seconds at Paris La Defense Arena destroying his previous best of 46.8. What made Pan’s world record all the more impressive was that it came in one of what swimming experts throughout the Games said was a notoriously “slow pool”, evidenced by race times and the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3332095/national-games-will-china-star-pan-zhanle-return-world-record-form-or-finish-year-flop?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3332095/national-games-will-china-star-pan-zhanle-return-world-record-form-or-finish-year-flop?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Nov 2025 00:00:15 +0000 Lars Hamer Lars Hamer On November 9, 73 teams and more than 20,000 athletes representing China’s provinces, municipalities and regions will descend on Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong to take part in the 15th National Games. Often referred to as the country’s Olympics, the Games were first held in Beijing in September and October 1959 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Over the decades, the Games have undergone other significant changes. The first four editions were... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3331939/powerhouse-provinces-rundown-teams-dominate-national-games?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3331939/powerhouse-provinces-rundown-teams-dominate-national-games?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Nov 2025 02:00:12 +0000 Lars Hamer Lars Hamer A child prodigy, world record holders, Olympic medallists and world champions mean that swimming at the National Games is set to be one of the hottest tickets going. The sport is set to be dominated by mainland Chinese swimmers, with Hong Kong possessing only one contender who can boast the above status: four-time Olympic medallist Siobhan Haughey. The 27-year-old has previously stated that she does not know whether she will compete at international level next year, and success is far from... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3329431/beyond-siobhan-haughey-hong-kongs-best-bets-chinas-top-threats-national-games?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3329431/beyond-siobhan-haughey-hong-kongs-best-bets-chinas-top-threats-national-games?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Oct 2025 01:00:19 +0000 Alice Yan Alice Yan A young swimming coach in eastern China has captured the attention of mainland social media with his striking looks and athletic physique, prompting many mothers to rush to enrol their children in his classes. Since early July, videos of a handsome swimming coach at Hangzhou Chen Jinglun Sport School in Zhejiang province teaching young children have circulated widely online, according to the Jiefang Daily. These clips are reportedly taken by the mothers of the coach’s pupils, allured by his... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3318092/hunky-chinese-swimming-coach-has-mothers-flocking-enrol-kids-some-want-join-classes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3318092/hunky-chinese-swimming-coach-has-mothers-flocking-enrol-kids-some-want-join-classes?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jul 2025 06:00:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Chinese 12-year-old swimming sensation Yu Zidi could be the brightest young star at this year’s world championships after producing a string of eye-popping performances in the past week. Yu, in her striking “doggy” swim cap, rounded off a sensational China national swimming championships in Shenzhen by winning the women’s 400 metres individual medley by almost two seconds on Saturday. Roared on by packed crowds in the southern city, which borders Hong Kong, Yu crushed a quality field in a... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3311706/chinas-12-year-old-swimming-star-yu-zidi-set-singapore-after-stunning-week?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3311706/chinas-12-year-old-swimming-star-yu-zidi-set-singapore-after-stunning-week?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 May 2025 05:50:20 +0000 Lars Hamer Lars Hamer Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey rounded off the first leg of the Mare Nostrum Swim Tour in Monaco on Sunday with her second gold medal in as many days, winning the 100 metres freestyle. Haughey finished in 53.58 seconds, just ahead of Milou van Wijk, the world relay gold medallist from the Netherlands, who clocked in at 53.76. Italy’s Sara Curtis rounded off the podium with a time of 54.69. Four-time Olympic medallist Haughey was more than 1.5 seconds slower than her best time of last year, 52.33,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3310856/siobhan-haughey-notches-second-win-mare-nostrum-swim-tour-monaco?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3310856/siobhan-haughey-notches-second-win-mare-nostrum-swim-tour-monaco?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 May 2025 03:03:25 +0000 Lars Hamer Lars Hamer The Chinese National Swimming Championships have started with a bang as Sun Yang and Pan Zhanle – respectively China’s best of a decade ago and the present – raced for the first time, in the men’s 400m freestyle. It went the younger man’s way as 20-year-old Pan, the reigning Olympic 100m freestyle champion, came home first in Shenzhen late on Saturday in 3:45.34, just ahead of Fei Liwei’s 3:45.57 for silver. Sun, 33, who still holds the national 400m record with a time of 3:40.14 set in 2012,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3310807/chinese-swimmer-pan-zhanle-wins-first-race-against-sun-yang-admits-nerves?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3310807/chinese-swimmer-pan-zhanle-wins-first-race-against-sun-yang-admits-nerves?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 May 2025 10:15:09 +0000 Lars Hamer Lars Hamer A clash of generational leading lights is on the cards when the Chinese National Swimming Championships begin in Shenzhen this weekend, with Pan Zhanle on course to race against Sun Yang. Present-day golden boy Pan is poised for his first competition of the year as he aims to follow his show-stealing feats at last year’s Paris Olympics. Sun, who made a similar splash when blazing a trail for China at the London 2012 Games, will continue his bid for rehabilitation after serving a ban for... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3310362/pan-zhanle-set-sun-yang-showdown-chinas-olympic-swimming-stars-head-shenzhen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3310362/pan-zhanle-set-sun-yang-showdown-chinas-olympic-swimming-stars-head-shenzhen?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 May 2025 00:30:10 +0000 Disgraced Chinese swimmer Sun Yang will next week compete for only the second time since his four-year drug ban was lifted last year, potentially paving the way for him to compete at the National Games. Three-time Olympic gold medallist Sun confirmed that he would swim at the Chinese Spring National Championships in Qingdao, Shandong province, which runs from March 18 to 23. The event gives Chinese swimmers the chance to qualify for the country’s national championships in Shenzhen in May – one... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3301954/swimmer-sun-yang-take-part-chinese-spring-national-meet-paving-way-national-games?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3301954/swimmer-sun-yang-take-part-chinese-spring-national-meet-paving-way-national-games?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Mar 2025 01:30:15 +0000 Weibo users in China have reacted with fury after local media suggested disgraced swimmer Sun Yang could no longer cut it as one of the best in the world. Sun, 32, won the men’s 400 metres freestyle final at the National Summer Swimming Championships in Hefei on Sunday with a time of 3 minutes and 49.58 seconds, in his first competitive race since the end of his four-year doping ban. His time was almost 10 seconds slower than the Olympic record time of 3:40.14 that he put up in London 2012, and... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3275926/weibo-users-fury-suggestion-swimmer-sun-yang-can-no-longer-cut-it-among-worlds-best?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3275926/weibo-users-fury-suggestion-swimmer-sun-yang-can-no-longer-cut-it-among-worlds-best?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Aug 2024 09:30:11 +0000 Disgraced swimmer Sun Yang broke down in tears after he won his heat in men’s 400 metres freestyle at the National Summer Swimming Championships on Sunday, his first competitive race since returning from a four-year drugs ban. But there were smiles all around hours later, when the 32-year-old Olympian, who is representing his home Zhejiang province at the event, won the final. Sun, who harbours a dream of competing at the Los Angeles Games in 2028, began his road to redemption in the heats with... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3275815/chinas-sun-yang-gives-tearful-interview-after-400m-heats-will-go-all-out-la-2028?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3275815/chinas-sun-yang-gives-tearful-interview-after-400m-heats-will-go-all-out-la-2028?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Aug 2024 07:06:05 +0000 Chinese swimmer Sun Yang will return to the pool at a top domestic meet next week, his first major competition since the end of his four-year ban for doping. The 32-year-old is expected to represent his home Zhejiang province at the National Summer Swimming Championships, which start on Sunday in Hefei. Yang’s drugs ban officially ended on May 28, and his team posted the message “Exceed yourself. Be a fearless swimmer” on social media soon after. The championships are a Class B national swimming... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3275259/chinas-sun-yang-returning-pool-top-championships-after-4-year-doping-ban-ends?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3275259/chinas-sun-yang-returning-pool-top-championships-after-4-year-doping-ban-ends?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Aug 2024 02:45:10 +0000 Once heralded for being China’s first men’s swimmer to win Olympic gold, Sun Yang’s fall from grace continued on Thursday as he was slammed by fans for the actions that saw him banned from the sport for four years. Sun was suspended for eight years in 2020 for a doping violation following an incident with drug testing officers at his home in China, during which Sun’s entourage smashed vials containing his blood. His ban was reduced to four years on appeal. It had been hinted that Sun – the first... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3267422/chinese-social-media-slams-swimmer-sun-yang-he-misses-paris-olympics-bad-character?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3267422/chinese-social-media-slams-swimmer-sun-yang-he-misses-paris-olympics-bad-character?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Jun 2024 14:11:20 +0000 World champion swimmer Lewis Clareburt hopes his second Olympics will be remembered for the action in the pool rather than rancour over a Chinese doping case that has dominated in the lead-up to the Paris Games. The New Zealander will bid for a first Olympic medal to add to his 400-metre individual medley (IM) world title when he swims the event, along with the 200m IM and 200m butterfly. Like many top swimmers, Clareburt was shocked by revelations 23 Chinese athletes tested positive for the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/article/3261084/china-doping-scandal-should-not-dominate-paris-olympics-world-swimming-champion-concerned-ahead?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/article/3261084/china-doping-scandal-should-not-dominate-paris-olympics-world-swimming-champion-concerned-ahead?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 May 2024 14:30:20 +0000 China’s three-time Olympic gold medallist swimmer Sun Yang said he would not be defeated by “difficulties” as he bides his time during a four-year doping suspension – and plots a sensational comeback at the 2024 Paris Games. Sun, the first male swimmer in history to earn Olympic and World Championship gold medals at every freestyle distance from 200 to 1,500 metres, was initially suspended for eight years in 2021 after a positive doping test. The 31-year-old’s suspension was later reduced to... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3233704/chinese-swim-legend-sun-yang-says-difficulties-during-4-year-doping-ban-will-not-deter-him-paris?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3233704/chinese-swim-legend-sun-yang-says-difficulties-during-4-year-doping-ban-will-not-deter-him-paris?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Sep 2023 06:38:39 +0000 Three-time Olympic champion Sun Yang has lost his final appeal against a ban for violating anti-doping rules, Switzerland’s highest court said on Friday. The Swiss Federal Tribunal dismissed the Chinese swimmer’s appeal against last year’s Court of Arbitration for Sport verdict on legal process grounds. Sun had been banned – after a retrial at CAS – for more than four years following a confrontational incident with sample collection officers at his home in China. The ban, which forced him to... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3169307/chinese-swimmer-sun-yang-loses-his-final-appeal-against-doping-ban?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3169307/chinese-swimmer-sun-yang-loses-his-final-appeal-against-doping-ban?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Mar 2022 12:23:23 +0000 Trimetazidine is a drug used to prevent or treat angina attacks – a type of chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart—and other heart-related conditions. It works by increasing blood flow to the heart and limits rapid spikes in blood pressure. It has been on Wada’s list of prohibited substances since 2014, first as a stimulant but was then reclassified under the “hormone and metabolic modulator” category the following year. It remains on the 2022 banned list as a metabolic... https://www.scmp.com/sport/article/3167532/winter-olympics-how-drug-found-kamila-valievas-sample-trimetazidine-enhances?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/article/3167532/winter-olympics-how-drug-found-kamila-valievas-sample-trimetazidine-enhances?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Feb 2022 06:33:13 +0000 Banned Chinese swimming star Sun Yang has the potential to become the “Li Jiaqi of mainland sports” after he helped sell around 50 million yuan (US$7.8 million) worth of cosmetic products online, a sports analyst said. The 30-year-old hosted a two-day live-stream sale on Douyin, China’s Tik Tok equivalent over the weekend, on behalf of the Sanya Duty Free Mall, reaching almost 7.4 million users and attracting 180,000 new subscribers. Three-time Olympic champion Sun was reported to have sold... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3163651/banned-swimmer-sun-yang-can-be-li-jiaqi-sports-after-selling-us78m?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3163651/banned-swimmer-sun-yang-can-be-li-jiaqi-sports-after-selling-us78m?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Jan 2022 08:15:14 +0000 Banned swimmer Sun Yang has reiterated his desire to compete in the 2024 Paris Games as the triple Olympic gold medallist made a rare public comment about his future plans. One of the China’s most decorated athletes, Sun is serving a four-year, three-month ban handed down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in June after he was found to have violated anti-doping protocol during an out-of-competition test in 2018. The suspension started in February 2020 and will end months before the start of... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3159076/chinas-banned-swimmer-sun-yang-focused-2024-paris-olympics-saying-my?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3159076/chinas-banned-swimmer-sun-yang-focused-2024-paris-olympics-saying-my?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Dec 2021 10:19:17 +0000 Chinese Olympic champion Wang Shun extended his National Games medal record with another gold in the pool in Xian on Friday night, his sixth of these games and 15th overall. Wang came home first in the men’s 200m individual medley, just as he had in Tokyo during the summer where he became the first Asian to win the event at the Olympics. He touched the wall in 1:56.33 to win gold by almost two seconds, though it was well off the Asian record 1:55.00 that secured him top spot on the podium at the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3150075/olympic-champion-wang-shun-extends-record-over-sun-yang-15th-national?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3150075/olympic-champion-wang-shun-extends-record-over-sun-yang-15th-national?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Sep 2021 03:44:43 +0000 Follow our live coverage of day eight of the Tokyo Olympics here With her silver in the 4x100m mixed medley relay, China’s Zhang Yufei won her fourth medal of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, matching Sun Yang as the country’s most successful swimmer at a single Games. In equalling Sun, Zhang becomes only the second Chinese swimmer to rack up four medals in a single Games but she is likely to have the chance to go one better in Sunday’s 4x100m freestyle relay. There is a world where she could have had... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3143313/tokyo-olympics-zhang-yufei-matches-sun-yang-medal-record-and-could-go?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3143313/tokyo-olympics-zhang-yufei-matches-sun-yang-medal-record-and-could-go?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Jul 2021 07:55:15 +0000 China has become a formidable force at the modern Summer Olympic Games and has finished in the top four of the medal table in all but one of the last nine Olympics. The country boasts a total of 224 gold medals from just 10 Games campaigns and sits seventh in the all-time list of Olympic medal-winning nations. China will send a squad of 392 athletes to compete in Japan later this month and will almost certainly add to its massive medal haul there when new gold-winning Olympians from China are... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3139899/chinas-top-olympic-athletes-all-time-part-two-sun-yang-liu-xiang-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3139899/chinas-top-olympic-athletes-all-time-part-two-sun-yang-liu-xiang-and?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jul 2021 11:15:18 +0000 More than a week after banning Sun Yang for 51 months, the Court of Arbitration for Sport revealed the full report on their verdict on Friday, with China’s star swimmer and swimming federation Fina both criticised. Sun was banned for four years and three months, backdated to February 28, 2020, on June 22 following the announcement of appeal of the second hearing between the World Anti Doping Agency against Sun and international swimming federation Fina. Sun had requested that the verdict from... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3139712/sun-yang-and-fina-criticised-full-cas-doping-violation-verdict?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3139712/sun-yang-and-fina-criticised-full-cas-doping-violation-verdict?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Jul 2021 10:01:02 +0000 Three-time Olympic gold medallist Sun Yang is already China’s most decorated competitive swimmer. He has nothing to prove, except his claim that he has been unjustly banned from international competition under anti-doping rules. A new panel of judges at the Court of Arbitration for Sport has dashed that prospect, leaving him unable to compete at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics next month. However, it reduced an earlier suspension of eight years by enough for him to target competing at the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3138885/sun-yang-can-look-2024-bittersweet-vindication?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3138885/sun-yang-can-look-2024-bittersweet-vindication?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Jun 2021 16:42:40 +0000 Sun Yang’s four-year ban has dominated the focus of Chinese internet users with the topic trending on social media giant Weibo, bringing mixed reaction and debate over whether it has ended the triple Olympic champion’s career. Sun will not defend his 200m freestyle title at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games this summer after the Court of Arbitration for Sport banned him from the pool until May 2024, a 51-month ban backdated to last February. New topics related to Sun’s ban, which was reduced to just... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3138544/sun-yang-ban-netizens-react-career-ending-cas-sanction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3138544/sun-yang-ban-netizens-react-career-ending-cas-sanction?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Jun 2021 05:04:07 +0000 China’s star swimmer Sun Yang has responded to the ban that has kept him out of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games next month, telling Chinese media that he will “not give up”. In a WeChat conversation with a journalist from The Paper, a Shanghai-based digital newspaper, Sun said “I’ll definitely jiayou [add oil] and won’t give up”, their website reported. To “add oil” – as with the Cantonese term gayau – has become an all-purpose cheer in China, especially in the sporting world. The 29-year-old... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3138416/sun-yang-responds-cas-ban-i-wont-give-says-china-swim-star-ruled-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3138416/sun-yang-responds-cas-ban-i-wont-give-says-china-swim-star-ruled-out?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Jun 2021 05:22:11 +0000 China’s triple Olympic swimming champion Sun Yang will not be in Tokyo next month to defend the 200m crown he won at the Rio 2016 Games. Despite being handed a reduced ban (four years and three months) by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Tuesday, the censure rules him out of the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the Asian Games next year, which will be held in his hometown of Hangzhou. So how did we get here, to the point where one of China’s greatest Olympians and most decorated swimmers in... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3138397/sun-yang-why-chinas-star-swimmer-missing-tokyo-2020-olympics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3138397/sun-yang-why-chinas-star-swimmer-missing-tokyo-2020-olympics?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Jun 2021 03:37:24 +0000 China’s star swimmer, Sun Yang, will miss the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games next month after the Court of Arbitration for Sport banned him for four years and three months over a disputed doping test in 2018. Sun – the reigning 200m freestyle gold medallist – was originally banned for eight years by CAS following a 2019 hearing before that ruling was overturned. The new verdict, which is backdated to last February, could see Sun return for the Paris 2024 Games, by which time he will be 32. Sun’s... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3138368/sun-yang-chinese-swim-star-out-tokyo-olympics-after-cas-ban?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3138368/sun-yang-chinese-swim-star-out-tokyo-olympics-after-cas-ban?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Jun 2021 15:45:37 +0000 A leading sports lawyer has encouraged the anti-Sun Yang brigade to stop judging the Chinese swimmer and instead fight to change a broken system in which a lack of transparency has only served to inflame his doping controversy. The 29-year-old Sun last week completed his second hearing with the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) after the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) brought a case against him for refusing a doping test in September 2018. Former Canadian Olympic swimmer and human rights... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3135687/sun-yang-hearing-stop-judging-chinese-swimmer-and-focus-changing-broken?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3135687/sun-yang-hearing-stop-judging-chinese-swimmer-and-focus-changing-broken?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Jun 2021 23:46:33 +0000 Chinese swimmer Sun Yang’s high-profile retrial on doping charges at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ended on Thursday after a two-day hearing which could clear the way for him to compete at the Tokyo Olympics. “The hearing is over on schedule. The date of the decision is not yet known, but it will be by the end of June at the latest,” a spokesperson for the sports court told AFP. The swimming competition in Tokyo is due to start on July 24. Unlike his previous hearing which was held in... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3135160/sun-yang-doping-retrial-ends-verdict-promised-time-olympics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3135160/sun-yang-doping-retrial-ends-verdict-promised-time-olympics?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 May 2021 04:03:29 +0000 The saga of Sun Yang will reach a conclusion soon, and we should finally get a definitive answer in the final chapter of the polarising swimmer’s career. Two opposing narratives could yet play out. One, a quiet denouement to the Chinese superstar’s once bright career, signalling the end of his fall from grace. The other a fabulously controversial one which involves an Olympic Games, Rule 50 and an overarching meta-narrative of geopolitics. Next week the Court of Arbitration of Sport will kick... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3134359/sun-yang-will-chinese-swimmer-go-out-bang-or-whimper?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3134359/sun-yang-will-chinese-swimmer-go-out-bang-or-whimper?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 May 2021 14:00:24 +0000 A leading human rights lawyer has slammed the appointment of “three white European men” on the panel for Sun Yang’s second hearing, adding that next week’s case before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) not only puts the Chinese swimmer on trial but the entire anti-doping justice system. Nikki Dryden, a two-time Olympic swimmer for Canada, said Sun’s first hearing brought by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) in November, 2019 – resulting in an eight-year ban that was quashed on appeal –... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3134228/sun-yang-hearing-lawyer-slams-white-european-men-cas-panel-saying?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3134228/sun-yang-hearing-lawyer-slams-white-european-men-cas-panel-saying?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 May 2021 10:44:03 +0000 Is Sun Yang still part of the Chinese swimming team? As sports apparel giant Anta became the strategic partner and exclusive sponsor of the Chinese swimming team this week, a new poster of the team was launched without its talisman Sun Yang. The controversial Sun is facing a second hearing on his doping case by the Court of Arbitration for Sport next week – the result of which may impose a lengthy suspension on the 1,500-metre world record-holder, beyond even this summer’s Tokyo Olympic... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3134033/sun-yang-missing-latest-olympic-team-china-swimming-poster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3134033/sun-yang-missing-latest-olympic-team-china-swimming-poster?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 May 2021 07:20:02 +0000 Chinese swimming star Sun Yang’s upcoming trial at the Court of Arbitration for Sport will take place behind closed doors, domestic media reported. Citing a letter from the CAS press office, Sun’s hearing will be held in private via video link rather than a public hearing, which Sun requested for his original hearing in November 2019, as neither side asked for it to “be opened up to the public”. “Accordingly, it will be conducted in private between the parties, exclusively by video conference,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3133885/tokyo-2020-sun-yang-cas-hearing-be-held-private?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3133885/tokyo-2020-sun-yang-cas-hearing-be-held-private?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 May 2021 07:39:30 +0000 Chinese superstar Sun Yang is right to feel he was treated unfairly by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) at his hearing in November 2019, an Australian anti-doping lawyer said. Catherine Ordway, assistant professor at the University of Canberra, said those who watched the live-streamed hearing that resulted in an eight-year doping ban for Sun – subsequently reversed – would feel the system was working against him. The 29-year-old triple Olympic champion will try to save his career on May... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3132565/sun-yang-right-feel-unfairly-treated-cas-panel-australian-anti?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3132565/sun-yang-right-feel-unfairly-treated-cas-panel-australian-anti?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 May 2021 01:52:14 +0000 China’s star swimmer Sun Yang will not swim at the Chinese Nationals, despite reports that he would return to the pool for the first time since the 2019 World Championships. The official athlete list was shared on Weibo by CCTV-5 sports reporter Sun Xiaoxue on Thursday, the day before the start of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games qualifying event in Qingdao, Shandong province. This followed a post earlier in the day from the Zhejiang Provincial Sports Bureau that did not list Sun among their... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3131883/tokyo-2020-sun-yang-not-china-nationals-could-still-swim-olympic-games?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3131883/tokyo-2020-sun-yang-not-china-nationals-could-still-swim-olympic-games?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 May 2021 08:18:33 +0000 China’s triple Olympic swimming champion Sun Yang is set to return to the pool for China’s national championships on April 30, according to reports. US swimming website SwimSwam reported the news on Friday, citing posts on Chinese social media platform Weibo. Chinese media then reported SwimSwam’s story, though some commenters doubted the veracity of the reports as Sun Yang and the Chinese Swimming Association have so far been silent. The topic of Sun’s return had more than three million reads... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3130945/tokyo-2020-sun-yang-return-china-nationals-april-30-reports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3130945/tokyo-2020-sun-yang-return-china-nationals-april-30-reports?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Apr 2021 10:48:37 +0000 The Court of Arbitration for Sport said on Thursday that a new hearing for Sun Yang, the Chinese swimming star who had an eight-year ban for doping overturned last year, will be held in May. “A new hearing will take place during the week of 24-28 May 2021,” CAS said in a statement. Switzerland’s federal supreme court overturned the ban on the 29-year-old, who was accused of destroying a blood vial with a hammer when collectors visited his home in September 2018, over alleged bias towards the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3128058/tokyo-olympics-2020-new-sun-yang-hearing-set-may-24-28-sports-court?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3128058/tokyo-olympics-2020-new-sun-yang-hearing-set-may-24-28-sports-court?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Apr 2021 02:19:14 +0000 Chinese swimming star Sun Yang is one of the 14 most hated athletes in world sport according to Spanish sports newspaper Marca, who have included the three-time Olympic champion in their list of the “World’s Most Hated Athletes”. Sun, an 11-time world champion, has long proved to be a controversial figure in the sport with several spats with his fellow swimmers, notably Mack Horton of Australia. Their dispute dates back to the Rio 2016 Olympics, which came after Sun had served a drugs ban in... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3119955/sun-yang-really-one-worlds-most-hated-athletes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3119955/sun-yang-really-one-worlds-most-hated-athletes?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 Jan 2021 05:43:38 +0000 On Friday, the Swiss Federal Tribunal confirmed what everyone already knew, that the highest court of sport made a dog’s dinner of its handling of the Sun Yang hearing. The swimmer’s eight-year, career-ending ban was dismissed because of the tweets of the president of the panel, Franco Frattini, the court said. A former Italian foreign minister and high-level EU politician, Frattini expressed none of the tact expected of such a role on Twitter where he called out animal cruelty in China,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3118070/cas-made-dogs-dinner-sun-yang-case-and-it-might-bite-them?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3118070/cas-made-dogs-dinner-sun-yang-case-and-it-might-bite-them?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Jan 2021 00:00:13 +0000 The news of why Sun Yang’s eight-year ban from the Court of Arbitration for Sport was overruled by the Swiss Supreme Court was met with mixed reaction in China, as fans backed the star swimmer while the media warned of another defeat at the new hearing. In a media statement issued on Friday, the Swiss Supreme Court explained that their December decision was based on the tweets of Italian president of the panel Franco Frattini, who had used racial and violent language towards China over animal... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3118071/china-reaction-sun-yang-appeal-sees-fan-delight-media-warns-defeat-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3118071/china-reaction-sun-yang-appeal-sees-fan-delight-media-warns-defeat-new?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Jan 2021 08:10:49 +0000 The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland has explained the reason why it overturned the original ruling from Chinese star swimmer Sun Yang’s hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, saying that CAS panel president Franco Frattini had shown a possible bias against Chinese people. The 29-year-old swimmer, who was originally banned for eight years by CAS last February, filed an appeal with the SFT that April. Switzerland’s highest court, which has the power to overturn rulings made by the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3118014/sun-yang-franco-frattini-dog-meat-tweets-saw-cas-ban-overturned-swiss?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3118014/sun-yang-franco-frattini-dog-meat-tweets-saw-cas-ban-overturned-swiss?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Jan 2021 07:26:08 +0000 Sun Yang’s recent appeal win at the Swiss Federal Tribunal over the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has raised questions over what happens next for China’s star swimmer. Swimming website SwimSwam asked its readers for their opinion in their weekly poll, which began on December 30 and finished last week. “Will Sun Yang swim at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021?” they asked, presenting their readers with three choices. Some 58 per cent of respondents chose “No,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3117122/sun-yang-miss-tokyo-2020-after-second-cas-ban-swimming-fans-say-online?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3117122/sun-yang-miss-tokyo-2020-after-second-cas-ban-swimming-fans-say-online?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Jan 2021 12:00:13 +0000 Sun Yang was absent but his aura would have hung over the New Year Chinese National Swimming Challenge, which ended on Sunday with the country’s big names making a splash at the Shijiazhuang pool. The 29-year-old Sun was last month cleared to swim again after Switzerland’s highest court sent his doping case back to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which in February banned him for eight years for refusing to submit to a doping test in September 2018. Two-time world champion Xu Jiayu,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3116245/sun-yang-absent-chinese-swimmers-flex-their-muscles-countdown-tokyo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3116245/sun-yang-absent-chinese-swimmers-flex-their-muscles-countdown-tokyo?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Jan 2021 09:21:48 +0000 The sporting year might have been badly hamstrung by the Covid-19 pandemic, but 2020 wasn’t a total write-off. There was still plenty of action to grab the headlines. 2019 was a solid column-inch year for Taiwanese-American basketball star Jeremy Lin as he collected his NBA Championship ring with the Toronto Raptors, and China’s former golden boy Sun Yang, whose career was effectively ended by the Court of Arbitration for Sport when he was handed an eight-year ban for doping violations (before... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3115704/best-2020-jeremy-lin-sun-yang-or-novak-djokovic-what-were-top?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3115704/best-2020-jeremy-lin-sun-yang-or-novak-djokovic-what-were-top?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Dec 2020 01:00:08 +0000 The anti-doping regime in sport is demanding. Athletes must cooperate with random testing during and outside competition. There are few if any excuses for banned substances in the blood or urine or for refusing or aborting tests. The consequences are punitive suspensions from competition that can be career-ending and financially devastating. The reputational taint is lasting. In the case of China’s swimming superstar and Olympic champion Sun Yang, an eight-year ban by the Court of Arbitration... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3115716/test-fair-play-sporting-arena?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3115716/test-fair-play-sporting-arena?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Dec 2020 13:30:15 +0000 The Swiss Federal Tribunal was wrong to send Sun Yang’s doping case back to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). It should have dismissed the initial CAS ruling altogether, cleared Sun of wrongdoing and ordered damages to be paid to the Chinese swimmer by bodies that were shoddy in interpreting the evidence and personalities quick to humiliate him in public because they “know” he was guilty. It may be that such a call was not within the powers of Switzerland’s highest court, which targeted... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3115405/sun-yangs-anti-doping-charges-should-be-thrown-out-case-closed-night?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3115405/sun-yangs-anti-doping-charges-should-be-thrown-out-case-closed-night?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Dec 2020 07:29:40 +0000