As four-year doping ban ends, China’s Sun eyes return to pool

After serving a four-year doping ban and missing Olympic trials for the Paris Games, Chinese swimmer Sun Yang has said he hopes to return to competition soon and “bravely” stand on the starting blocks.

Sun’s ban finished on Monday, paving the way for a return to the pool for the 32-year-old triple Olympic champion and 1,500 metres freestyle world record holder.

“I hope to be able to select a competition soon enough and stand on the starting block, getting back to the pool I was familiar with, getting back to the feeling that I was familiar with,” Sun told Chinese news website The Paper in a video interview posted on Tuesday.

“I’m proud enough of all the results and honours I’ve achieved throughout my career. At the moment I just hope I can bravely stand on the starting block.

Sun was initially suspended for eight years in 2020 for a dope test violation in 2018 in which he and members of his entourage smashed vials containing blood samples. The ban was reduced to four years and three months on appeal.

“Four years ago I’ve made this decision already – that I wanted to carry on,” Sun said.

The 11-times world champion said he had told his team and his mum that they must support him, despite them worrying about his mental health as he trained alone.

“I said I would never give up …. When the ban started I felt extremely dark. Whatever I wanted to do at the time, as long as it’s reasonable, they (my parents) would support me,” he said.

“They were afraid I would go mental because at the time I was swimming every day alone in the pool. Others would wonder why I didn’t do something else after so long (and) that I might have gone crazy,” he added.

Though Sun is clear to resume competition, he may have little chance of swimming for China again. Chinese athletes who receive doping suspensions longer than a year are banned from national teams, according to the country’s anti-doping rules.

ALSO READ: Marchand continues Paris Olympic build-up with 100 fly win in California

It was also his second doping ban, after he served a three-month suspension in 2014 for taking trimetazidine, a prohibited substance which he said he took to treat a heart condition.

Sun became the first Chinese athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in men’s swimming when he took the 400 metres freestyle title at the 2012 London Games.

He also won the 1,500m freestyle gold at London and the 200m freestyle title at the Rio Games four years later.

Though his achievements made him a national hero, Sun’s doping record fanned tension with rival swimmers, including Australia’s Mack Horton who labelled him a “drug cheat” at Rio.

Horton and British swimmer Duncan Scott both refused to share a medal podium with Sun at the 2019 world championships in Gwangju.

A divisive figure in China due to his doping record, the expiry of Sun’s latest ban was given scant coverage by major state media.