The Chinese swimmer Sun Yang, triple Olympic champion and who will be able to compete again in May after a long suspension, will not be able to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Sun’s absence is due to the criteria defined by the Chinese Swimming Association for the Olympic qualification: the results of the last World Cup in Fukuoka 2023, the Doha World Cup to be held in February 2024 and the nationals that will be held in April.
In this way, despite the fact that for Paris (from July 26 to August 11) the suspension will have been completed, the top winner of Chinese swimming will not have a chance of competing again in the Olympic Games after having been in London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Sun made his big appearance in the Olympic world when he won the gold medals in the 400 and 1500 meters in London, while adding a silver medal in the 200 and bronze in the 4x200. Four years later, in Rio de Janeiro, he was champion in the 200 and second in the 400. His participation in Brazil generated harsh comments from his rivals: the Australian Mark Horton described him as “doped” and the Frenchman Camille Lacourt said he was “disgusted to see people cheating on the podiums”.
The Chinese, who holds the record in the 1500 meters, also has 11 world titles and is the fourth with the most wins only behind the Americans Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky and the Swedish Sarah Sjöström.
The historic sanction that Sun Yang suffered
In September 2018, while undergoing an anti-doping test at his home, the Chinese swimmer destroyed a blood sample with hammers, arguing that those responsible for the tests did not show “the documents that proved his identity”.
For this episode, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS) suspended Sun in February 2020 for eight years, the maximum possible sanction, although it was later reduced to four years and three months.
For this reason, Sun had no longer been able to attend the Tokyo Olympics and at 32 he was preparing to try to return to Paris, but the decision of the Chinese Swimming Association ended his dream.
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