Opinion | Sun Yang: debacle takes another twist as top Swiss court upholds appeal in perplexing and confusing move

Sun, who was initially given an eight-year doping ban that would have effectively ended his career, has found new hope, for now

With the case going back to CAS, will the wheels of justice turn fast enough to stop Sun swimming at the Tokyo Olympics?

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Sun Yang is back in the news, again. Photo: DPA

Published: 1:15pm, 24 Dec 2020Updated: 2:02pm, 24 Dec 2020

The walking controversy that has become Chinese swimmer Sun Yang has taken yet another odd turn days on the eve of Christmas in a perplexing and confusing move by a Swiss court.

The World Anti-Doping Agency released a statement saying a Swiss court has overturned an eight-year doping ban against him and sent the case back to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for a second time but with a different chairman of judges.

Little is known about the actual ruling at this point, but apparently it appears to have hinged on an objection by Sun’s lawyers to former Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini, the chairman of the three-judge panel.

The New York Times is reporting that Sun’s lawyers successfully argued that the head of the CAS panel had made public comments that criticised China and its people.

Wada, the only party to release a statement so far, has doubled down on their stance, saying it had “clearly prevailed on the substance of the case” in the CAS award.

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