Chinese Olympic champion Sun Yang wins in first race after 4-year doping ban

SINGAPORE: Chinese Olympic champion Sun Yang made a victorious return at a major domestic swimming meet on Sunday (Aug 25), his first competitive race after the expiry of a four-year ban for doping. 
Sun, representing his hometown Zhejiang Province, claimed gold in the men’s 400m freestyle at the 2024 National Summer Swimming Championships in Hefei, east China’s Anhui Province, state-owned Xinhua News Agency reported. 
The 32-year-old swimmer won with a time of 3:49:58, considerably slower than his personal best, an Olympic record 3:40:14 set at the 2012 Games in London.  
Speaking to reporters after the competition, Sun said: “I could have done better.” 
“Four years away from competition, and without intensive training, I do feel rusty in controlling the tempo, and I need more competitions. But it’s a good start for my comeback, and I’m happy with this result,” he told Xinhua. 
In a post on social media platform Weibo on Sunday, Sun said his past “victories, failures and challenges” have taught him how to meet life’s challenges and difficulties face on, and to “become stronger and more confident”. 
“I want to thank my parents, my partner, my teacher, my friends and those who have supported me silently all the way,” Sun wrote. “It’s their love and support that made me treasure every moment in life even more.” 
The South China Morning Post reported that when he was asked over the weekend by a journalist if he would try and qualify for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, Sun said: “If there’s an opportunity, I will go all out to get it.”
The triple Olympic champion was banned from competing for four years and three months for a dope test violation in 2018 in which he and members of his entourage smashed vials containing blood samples.
The ban, reduced from eight years on appeal, expired on May 28.
Sun became the first Chinese athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in men’s swimming at the 2012 Games in London, winning both the 400m and 1,500 freestyle events. 
He later went on to win gold and silver in the 200m and 400m freestyle at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. 
Sun had previously served a three-month ban in 2014 after testing positive for a banned stimulant.
Sun’s gold medal comes after China’s swim team faced intense scrutiny over the country’s doping record. 
Last month, a nutritionist for the team claimed that their swimmers were reportedly tested for doping about 200 times over 10 days after they arrived in Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games. 
“In these 10 days, our 31 athletes went through almost 200 tests for doping by the International Testing Agency – this is on top of training and jet lag,” claimed Mr Yu Liang in a since-deleted Weibo post.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed reports in April that 23 of the nation’s swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine, a heart medication banned under the WADA code, in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021.
WADA accepted the findings of a Chinese investigation that the test results were due to contamination from a hotel kitchen the team were staying at and allowed the 23 swimmers to compete in Tokyo. 
A World Aquatics audit into the case showed no mismanagement or cover-up by WADA.
Reuters reported that Swiss prosecutor Eric Cottier, who conducted an independent investigation into WADA’s handling of the case, also determined all protocols were followed without favouritism.
China won 12 swimming medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, including two golds. Pan Zhanle, who set a world record to win 100m freestyle gold in Paris, said he underwent more than 20 doping tests from May to July prior to the Games.