1. Sun Yang is a Chinese Olympic and former world-record-holding competitive swimmer.
84 Facts About Sun Yang
1. 2.
In 2012, Sun became the first Chinese athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in men's swimming.
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Sun Yang is the first male swimmer in history to earn Olympic and World Championship gold medals at every freestyle distance from 200 to 1500 metres.
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In September 2018, Sun Yang was involved in a controversial incident during an out-of-competition doping test at his home.
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FINA ruled that Sun Yang did not violate anti-doping rules due to the DCA's actions.
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Sun Yang was born on 1 December 1991 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
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Sun Yang's father, Sun Quanhong, was a basketball player for Anhui Tigong.
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Sun Yang's mother, Yang Ming, was a volleyball player for Zhejiang and is a sports coach.
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Sun Yang started swimming in 1998, and his potential was recognised by a teacher at Jinglun Sports School in Hangzhou.
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Sun Yang made his international debut at the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia.
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Sun Yang finished 32nd in the 400 metre freestyle and 23rd in the 800 metre freestyle.
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Sun Yang finished 2nd in the 400 metre freestyle with a time of 3:49.34.
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Sun Yang later came 7th in the qualifying heats of the 1500 metre freestyle, reaching the final, where he finished last.
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Sun Yang rebounded the following year at the 2009 World Championships, where he won his first international medal, a bronze, in the 1500 metre freestyle with a time of 14:46.84.
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Sun Yang finished 18th in the 400 metre freestyle with a time of 3:47.51.
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Sun Yang's 1500-metre freestyle time of 14:35.43 was a new Asian record and the second-fastest time in history, behind Grant Hackett, whose record Sun would surpass the following year.
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Sun Yang was named Rookie of the Year at the 2010 China Central Television Sports Awards.
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Three days later, Sun Yang won his first World Championship title in the 800 metre freestyle with a time of 7:38.57.
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The last day of competition, Sun Yang competed in the 1500 metre freestyle.
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Sun Yang won the race with a time of 14:34.14, ten seconds ahead of the rest of the competition.
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At age 19, Sun Yang beat Hackett's world record of 14:34.56, which had stood for ten years.
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Sun Yang's time was the third fastest in history, 0.07 seconds away from the world record, and setting a new Asian record.
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Sun Yang won a silver medal in the final, tying with Park Tae-hwan with a time of 1:44.93, a new national record.
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Sun Yang had qualified for the final with the fastest time.
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At the initial line-up on the starting blocks, a step-down command was issued because of noise from the crowd, but instead of stepping back, Sun Yang reacted by diving in.
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The officials ruled the early dive was the result of noise from the crowd and did not constitute a false start, and Sun Yang was allowed to continue in the competition.
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Sun Yang went on to win the race with a time of 14:31.02, breaking his own world record by over three seconds.
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Sun Yang finished over eight seconds ahead of second-place finisher, Canadian Ryan Cochrane.
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Sun Yang completed the last 50 metres of the race in 25.68 seconds, nearly two seconds faster than Cochrane.
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From 28 July to 4 August 2013, Sun Yang competed at the World Championships.
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Two days later, Sun Yang retained his title in the 800 metre freestyle with a time of 7:41.36.
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Sun Yang finished with a time of 14:41.15, beating runner-up Ryan Cochrane by 1.33 seconds.
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One month later, Sun Yang competed in the 2013 National Games of China.
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Sun Yang followed these performances the next day by setting a new Asian record in the 200 metre freestyle with a time of 1:44.47, about half a second faster than his time in London.
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In May 2014, the Chinese Swimming Association handed Sun Yang a warning but let him off without suspension after he tested positive for trimetazidine, a drug that was banned four months earlier and classified as a stimulant at the time by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
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The lenient penalty was based on this: Sun Yang said that Dr Ba Zhen, an Olympic team doctor for Chinese swimming, prescribed the drug to treat heart palpitations, a condition he has suffered since 2008, and was unaware that it had been newly added to the banned substances list.
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Sun Yang claimed gold medal in the 200 metre freestyle at Chinese Spring Nationals in May 2014.
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At the 2014 Asian Games, Sun Yang participated in the 200,400, and 1500 metre freestyle events.
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Sun Yang won silver in the 200 metre freestyle, finishing behind Kosuke Hagino.
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Sun Yang finished with a time of 14:49.75, over five seconds ahead of runner-up Kohei Yamamoto.
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At the 2015 World Championships, Sun Yang won silver in the 200 metre freestyle with a time of 1:45.20, finishing 0.06 seconds behind James Guy.
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Sun Yang finished 1st in the 800 metre freestyle with a time of 7:39.96, which was 0.85 seconds ahead of runner-up Gregorio Paltrinieri.
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At the World Championships, Sun Yang was accused by Brazilian coaches of assaulting one of their female swimmers, Larissa Oliveira.
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FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu explained that the altercation that led to a complaint against Sun Yang was due to congestion in the warm-up pool, and did not warrant further action.
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In June 2016, Sun Yang competed at the Arena Pro Swim Series finale in Santa Clara, California.
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Sun Yang won the 200 metre freestyle event with a time of 1:44.82, giving him 1st in the world ranks.
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At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Sun Yang won the 200 metre freestyle with a time of 1:44.65, finishing 0.55 seconds ahead of runner-up Chad le Clos.
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Sun Yang won a silver medal in the 400 metre freestyle with a time of 3:41.68, finishing 0.13 seconds behind Mack Horton of Australia.
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Sun Yang finished 16th in the qualifying heats of the 1500 metre freestyle, clocking in at 15:01.97.
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Sun Yang was accused of splashing water into rival Horton's face during practice.
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Horton responded by accusing Sun Yang of being a "drug cheat", in reference to his 2014 suspension.
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Sun Yang finished 5th in the 800 metre freestyle, failing to defend his title.
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Sun Yang finished 1st in the 400 metre freestyle with a time of 3:42.92, over four seconds ahead of runner-up Naito Ehara.
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In September 2018, Sun Yang experienced an out-of-competition test at his home.
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At the 2019 World Championships, Sun Yang finished 2nd behind Danas Rapsys in the 200 metre freestyle.
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Sun Yang is the first and the only swimmer to do so.
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Sun Yang clashed with Duncan Scott during the 200 metre freestyle presentation.
58.
In May 2014, Sun Yang was banned for three months by the Chinese Swimming Association after he tested positive for trimetazidine, a drug that was banned four months earlier and newly classified as a stimulant at the time by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
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Sun Yang was tested while competing in the Chinese national swimming championships, and said that a doctor prescribed the drug to treat heart palpitations, a condition he has suffered since 2008, and that he was unaware that it had been newly added to the banned substances list.
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Sun Yang was eligible to file a medical exception to use the drug for his heart condition, but he did not do so.
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The World Anti-Doping Agency admonished the Chinese Swimming Association for tardiness in reporting the failed test and the subsequent ban until after it had been served, meaning that Sun Yang never missed a major event.
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CHINADA deputy director Zhao Jia said that "Sun Yang proved with sufficient evidence that he did not intend to cheat, which helped reduce his ban to three months", but he was stripped of his win in the 1500 metre freestyle at the 2014 Chinese nationals.
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One Australian writer opined that the punishment was lenient, but pointed out that Sun Yang was not found to have doped intentionally.
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Sun Yang had almost missed this deadline for testing but managed to arrive within the window.
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Sun Yang noticed the DCA had been taking pictures of him and requested his accreditations, which were not provided.
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Sun Yang's entourage including his doctor Ba Zhen, had refused to let the testers take his blood vials.
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The testers refused to leave without their casing and had refused Sun Yang's offer to wait for an accredited team to replace them.
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Sun Yang believed that the testing personnel did not have proper credentials.
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The inquiry panel concluded that "Mr Sun Yang has not committed an anti-doping rule violation", which FINA accepted.
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Sun Yang's lawyers told the Associated Press he requested that his CAS hearing to be public and "fully transparent to clear his name".
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Sun Yang had just finished competing in the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia two days earlier.
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Sun Yang had competed and won Gold medals in the 200,400,800 and 1,500 metres freestyle.
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Sun Yang wrote that the DCA "lacked proper accreditation and lacked authorization to perform her assigned role".
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The court ruled that Sun Yang can maintain the two world titles he won in South Korea.
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The CAS decision against Sun Yang was scrutinized, and many unknown facts about the case were brought to light, in an article published at Sports Integrity Initiative in 15 May 2020.
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The article stated that CAS decision against Sun Yang was "unfair" and needs to be overturned given the extenuating circumstances such as the test team not meeting standards and that the "DCO failed to give the required warning".
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Also that swimmers are allowed to miss two drug tests per year, and so that if Sun Yang had anything to hide that night, he could have just skipped the test, and that Sun Yang hasn't missed a single test in the previous 12 months before the incident.
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In 2012, Sun Yang became the first Chinese man to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming.
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Sun Yang is the first male swimmer in history to earn Olympic and World Championship gold medals at every freestyle distance between 200 and 1500 metres.
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On 3 November 2013, Sun Yang was found driving without a licence following a collision in Hangzhou.
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On 24 April 2014, Sun Yang had his endorsement and business-related ban lifted as a result of "good behavior".
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In July 2014, Sun Yang graduated from Zhejiang University with a bachelor's degree in sports studies.
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Sun Yang's sporting philosophy is "You succeed when you believe that you can succeed".
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On 20 July 2023, Sun Yang announced his marriage to former rhythmic gymnast Zhang Doudou.