Sun Yang’s first post-suspension title came in the 400m freestyle, which he won in 3.49.58 – just over nine seconds off the London 2012 Olympic gold time.
– I feel rusty so I need more competitions, said China’s most victorious swimmer afterwards.
Shed tears
The 32-year-old Sun Yang has won three Olympic golds and eleven World Cup golds in his career.
The Chinese also became emotional and shed tears in front of reporters afterwards when, according to the South China Morning Post, he said:
– It is the trust and support from my family that has made me come back.
Was proposed first
In a high-profile ruling in 2021, Sun Yang was suspended for four years (counting from 2020) by the Court of Arbitration for Sport Cas after he refused to submit a doping test when he was to be tested at his home.
The incident occurred in 2018 and he was first cleared by the International Swimming Federation before being censured by Cas.
The suspension expired in May
Sun Yang was also banned for three months in 2014 for taking an illegal substance.
His suspension expired in May this year, but too late to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Several Chinese have been caught in doping tests
Sun Yang’s comeback comes shortly after another Chinese doping controversy. Last spring, it was revealed that 23 Chinese swimmers were caught in doping tests before the Olympics in Tokyo 2021.
Anti-doping body Wada and the International Swimming Federation bought China’s own explanation that the small amounts of the heart drug trimetazidine that caused the rash had come from contaminated food and the swimmers were cleared.
