Sun Yang

Sun Yang
孙杨
Photograph of Sun with his arms raised above his head
Sun at the 2014 Asian Games
Personal information
Nicknames
  • Underwater Meteor[1]
  • Sun Mengmeng (孙萌萌)[2]
  • Da Bai (大白)[3]
National teamChina
Born (1991-12-01) 1 December 1991 (age 32)
Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Height1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)[4]
Weight89 kg (196 lb)[1]
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese孙杨
Traditional Chinese孫楊
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinSūn Yáng
IPA[swə́n.jǎŋ]
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubZhejiang Swimming Team
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing  China
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 3 2 1
World Championships (LC) 11 2 3
World Championships (SC) 0 0 1
Asian Swimming Championships 8 0 0
Asian Games 9 5 0
Total 31 9 5
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2012 London 400 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2012 London 1500 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 200 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2012 London 200 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 400 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London 4×200 m freestyle
World Championships (LC)
Gold medal – first place 2011 Shanghai 800 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2011 Shanghai 1500 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2013 Barcelona 400 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2013 Barcelona 800 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2013 Barcelona 1500 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2015 Kazan 400 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2015 Kazan 800 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2017 Budapest 200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2017 Budapest 400 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2019 Gwangju 200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2019 Gwangju 400 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2011 Shanghai 400 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2015 Kazan 200 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Rome 1500 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Shanghai 4×200 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Barcelona 4×200 m freestyle
World Championships (SC)
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Hangzhou 4×200 m freestyle
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2010 Guangzhou 1500 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2010 Guangzhou 4×200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2014 Incheon 1500 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2014 Incheon 400 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2014 Incheon 4×100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2018 Jakarta-Palembang 200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2018 Jakarta-Palembang 400 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2018 Jakarta-Palembang 800 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2018 Jakarta-Palembang 1500 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2010 Guangzhou 200 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2010 Guangzhou 400 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2014 Incheon 200 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2018 Jakarta-Palembang 4×100 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2018 Jakarta-Palembang 4×200 m freestyle

Sun Yang (Chinese: 孙杨; Mandarin pronunciation: [swə́n.jǎŋ]; born 1 December 1991) is a Chinese Olympic and former world-record-holding competitive swimmer. In 2012, Sun became the first Chinese athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in men's swimming. Sun is the first male swimmer in history to earn Olympic and World Championship gold medals at every freestyle distance from 200 to 1500 metres. A three-time Olympic gold medalist and eleven-time world champion, he is the most decorated Chinese swimmer in history. In 2017, NBC Sports described him as "very arguably the greatest freestyle swimmer of all time".[5]

In September 2018, Sun was involved in a controversial incident during an out-of-competition doping test at his home. The doping control assistant (DCA) lacked proper accreditation and took photos of Sun without his permission, leading him to refuse the blood sample collection. A security guard broke open the container to prevent the testers from taking the vials. The DCA later admitted to unprofessional conduct. Initially, FINA ruled that Sun did not violate anti-doping rules due to the DCA's actions.[6] However, on 28 February 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned FINA's decision, banning Sun for eight years for tampering with the doping control process. Some analysts opined that the trial was marred by severe translation problems, conflict of interest, bias and an "absence of evidence" around doping activity. Despite this, CAS found no evidence of doping, so Sun retained his medals.[7][8][9][10] On 22 June 2021, after a retrial, the CAS upheld the ban but reduced it to four years and three months.[11]

  1. ^ a b "Sun Yang's Biography". FINA. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  2. ^ "孙杨: "孙萌萌"这个绰号太二了". Netease (in Chinese). 5 August 2012. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  3. ^ "中国粉丝安慰孙杨: "大白"长大了 期待再接再厉". Hexun (in Chinese). 7 August 2016. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  4. ^ "Yang SUN | Profile | FINA Official". Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Swimming World Magazine Announces 2018 Pacific Rim Swimmers of the Year". Swimming World News. 29 November 2018. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "'Lies and false evidence': Lawyer shreds Sun Yang's eight-year ban ruling". Fox Sports. 29 February 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  8. ^ Court of Arbitration for Sport (29 February 2020). "Sun Yang is found guilty of a doping offense and sanctioned with an 8-year period of ineligibility" (PDF). Court of Arbitration for Sport. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 March 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  9. ^ "Chinese swimmer Sun Yang banned for eight years for breaking anti-doping rules". ABC News. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  10. ^ "Sun Yang: Eight-year ban for Chinese Olympic champion". BBC Sport. 28 February 2020. Archived from the original on 2 October 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  11. ^ "CAS decision in the matter World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) v. Sun Yang and Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA)" (PDF). www.tas-cas.org. Court of Arbitration for Sport. 22 June 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.