Explainer | What does the latest Sun Yang ruling mean for the Chinese star’s Tokyo Olympic hopes?

The 29-year-old Chinese swimmer’s appeal against an eight-year ban is upheld in court and a new CAS hearing is expected to take place

The ruling has major ramifications for Sun and his rivals because he may now be eligible to compete at the delayed 2020 Games

Reading Time:3 minutes

China's Sun Yang flares up at Britain’s Duncan Scott, who refused to shake hands during the medal ceremony at the 2019 world championships. Photo: AP

Published: 4:15pm, 24 Dec 2020Updated: 4:15pm, 24 Dec 2020

The controversy around Chinese swimmer Sun Yang took another twist when a Swiss court upheld his appeal against a doping ban that would have seen him serve eight years and effectively end his swimming career.

Given a career lifeline by Wednesday’s ruling, Sun remains a polarising figure within the swimming community having been plagued by allegations of illegal substance use dating back to 2014.

The Swiss ruling comes at a peculiar time, two days before the Christmas holiday, and the explanation for the about-face has yet to be made public leading to speculation about why the appeal was upheld. So what happened and what is next for Sun?

What led to this verdict?

Franco Frattini chairs the CAS hearing on Sun Yang in February, 2020.

The World Anti-Doping Agency broke the news that a Swiss court overturned the ban for anti-doping offences against Sun on Wednesday and ordered the case back to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but with a different chairman on the judges’ panel.