Sun Yang Facing Lifetime Ban After Incident With Drug Testers

sun-yang-water-pour-rio-2016-olympics
Photo Courtesy: David E. Klutho-USA TODAY Sports

Olympic Champion and world record holder Sun Yang may be facing a lifetime ban from competitive swimming after a run-in with anti-doping officials collecting samples, according to a report that appeared in The Sunday Times.  

According to the report, the incident involved Sun and his bodyguard smashing a sealed vial of the swimmer’s blood with a hammer, destroying the testing sample. The Sunday Times notes that Sun almost missed an out-of-competition test on September 4, 2018, breaking several testing protocols and questioning the credentials of the drug testers. The incident allegedly did not resolve until 4 a.m.

Despite this, FINA reviewed the incident and in a January 3 hearing a panel ruled in Sun’s favor. However, according to The Sunday Times the World Anti-Doping Agency is considering filing an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport on the incident.

Sun himself has threatened legal action against The Sunday Times, according to a report that appeared on the Channel News Asia website. The swimmer claims that the officials had failed to produce proper documentation for the testing, resulting in Sun attempting to reject the testing. His statement makes no mention of destroying the sample with a hammer as reported in the Times article.

This is not the first controversy involving anti-doping officials that Sun has been involved in. Sun has previously served a 3-month ban for doping that took effect back in May of 2014. That ban was a result of a positive test for the substance Trimetazidine at the 2014 Chinese Nationals, and resulted in the stripping of his 1500 National Title. The ban, however, was not announced until after it had already been completed.

Dr. Ba Zhen, who has been Sun’s longtime doctor, was also banned for a year for his role in that incident, and The Sunday Times reports he was also involved in Sun’s more recent incident with anti-doping officials in September.

Sun has been known for erratic behavior that has grabbed headlines, including a short stint in jail in 2013 for driving without a license that resulted in a subsequent ban from the Chinese Swimming Federation. He also drew attention in 2015 when he assaulted another swimmer in the warm up pool at the 2015 World Championships prior to the start of the 1500 free. He subsequently withdrew from the finals of that event but claimed in a statement that the incident was unrelated, instead blaming his withdrawal on concerns over chest pain.

Swimming World will continue to update this story as it develops.

The Sunday Times and Channel News Asis contributed to this report.

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Antonio Costilla
5 years ago

Australia’s ?? Mack Horton was right all along, and he still faces bullying from Chinese nationals on his social media ?

Larry Bluemel
5 years ago

Knew it a long time ago.

Tony MacGuinness
5 years ago
Reply to  Larry Bluemel
Larry Bluemel
5 years ago
Reply to  Larry Bluemel

Tony MacGuinness Ussain Bolt was on my radar. It doesn’t surprise me about Carl Lewis.

Cam Dole
5 years ago

Chinese Lochte? Taking the honesty out of the sport- take him out of it.

Rachel Sherrington
5 years ago
Reply to  Cam Dole

Cam Dole hardly the same are they !

Stephen Paul
5 years ago
Reply to  Cam Dole

more like Michelle Smith but at least she had a good back up plan. she is now a sucessful lawyer in her native ireland

Cam Dole
5 years ago
Reply to  Cam Dole

Rachel Sherrington read the article, multiple incidences- not all drug related

Stephen Paul
5 years ago
Reply to  Cam Dole

Cam Dole yang punched a female swimmer who got into his lane during open warmups once and I believe left the meet shortly afterwards due to “unforeseen illness”

oh that is mentioned in this article I thought this was the sydney papers article I read earlier that didnt mention his questionable past

Cam Dole
5 years ago
Reply to  Cam Dole

Stephen Paul not really sure what you’re arguing for here…

Donna Neal Wellford
5 years ago
Reply to  Cam Dole

Cam Dole horrible comment!!! Not even close!!

Charlotte Cusachs Bujoreanu
Reply to  Cam Dole

Cam Dole Seriously? RL is no doper, cheater or violent sexist. There is absolutely not comparison.

Franziska
Franziska
5 years ago

RL has one doping violation under his name. He’s also a lier.

Malia Riggs
5 years ago
Reply to  Cam Dole

Totally agree with you Cam!

Richard Willmore
5 years ago

About time

Yukun Lee
5 years ago

Purple urine

Tony MacGuinness
5 years ago

FINA has ruled on Jan. 3, 2019 that Sun Yang did not violate the World Anti-Doping Code…

Pamela Goldsbro
5 years ago

Tony MacGuinness Fina are gutless and scared of the Chinese

Jimmy Morris
5 years ago

Typical

Katie Wright
5 years ago

Jordan Wright

Charles Groscup
5 years ago

NOT a face a swimming. Keep him out.

Mariana Cornejoj
5 years ago

????????????

Aidan Godwin
5 years ago

James Kwan

Keith DeWitt
5 years ago

Connor Jaeger deserves the gold from Rio in the 1500!

Franziska
Franziska
5 years ago
Reply to  Keith DeWitt

please, the 1500 gold medalist from Rio is Paltrinieri.

Giampaolo Santi
5 years ago
Reply to  Keith DeWitt

Paltrinieri won in Rio 2016…

Julien Debris
5 years ago
Reply to  Keith DeWitt

Paltrinieri won at Rio games ?

Catherine de Groot-Hedlin
Reply to  Keith DeWitt

maybe Ryan Cochran deserves the gold from London. Sun Yang didn’t even final in the 1500 in Rio

Ole Mikkelsen
5 years ago

Idiot.

Herbie Hanson
5 years ago

Ban the cheat

Terrence Moore Robinson Jr

Been doping for a long time, erase his records, retrieve his medals and ban him for life

Carole Machol-Atler
5 years ago

Terrence Moore Robinson Jr I am nit condoning his behavior, however,I hope you have that as fact seeing now that it’s in print: libel

Terrence Moore Robinson Jr

Carole Machol-Atler ready testify when needed ?

Tony MacGuinness
5 years ago

Terrence Moore Robinson Jr
Like Carl Lewis…

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2003/apr/24/athletics.duncanmackay

Terrence Moore Robinson Jr

Tony MacGuinness if you kill innocent people but no one knows, is it still murder?
Cheating is cheating if all participating don’t do same…
anyone Lewis, Armstrong, Ben Johnson…

Tony MacGuinness
5 years ago

Terrence Moore Robinson Jr
But, it is also incumbent on those officials who allegedly were there to carry out the tests to actually have the correct paperwork and credentials available and on their person, to prove who they are.
This group of so called “officials” did not and could not provide ANY verifiable documentation.

He was well within his rights to refuse as confirmed by Fina.

Jo Banham
5 years ago

Robert have you seen this. ??

Robert Nesbitt
5 years ago
Reply to  Jo Banham

Jo Banham yeah read t this morning. He needs to go along with the rest of the bloody cheats

Jo Banham
5 years ago
Reply to  Jo Banham

Robert Nesbitt quite agree

Tony MacGuinness
5 years ago
Reply to  Jo Banham

Robert Nesbitt
He was cleared by Fina. Shame the so called testers did not have the correct paper work or credentials on them

Tony MacGuinness
5 years ago
Reply to  Jo Banham

Jo Banham
He was cleared by Fina. Shame the so called testers did not have the correct paper work or credentials on them

Brandon Ortiz
5 years ago

Nooooo

Nancy Pulham
5 years ago

We all knew he was using didn’t we?

Carole Machol-Atler
5 years ago
Reply to  Nancy Pulham

Nancy Pulham we?

Ailish Dougherty
5 years ago

Gus Anderson

Gus Anderson
5 years ago

Smh

Ailish Dougherty
5 years ago

Gus Anderson legend

Shaheen Alghofari
5 years ago

Joe Stott

Albert Garcia-Paladini Quetglas

Toni Llauradó Estrany positivo en thc

Youssef William
5 years ago

Ibrahem EL Tayeb
Hwa eh ely by7sal dah??

Ibrahem EL Tayeb
5 years ago

Youssef William bywas3olna l tare2

Abdullah Walid
5 years ago

Ammar Hossam Yassin Tolba

Yassin Tolba
5 years ago
Reply to  Abdullah Walid

Alak

Ammar Hossam
5 years ago
Reply to  Abdullah Walid

Da atfashakh

Carla Mc Cabe
5 years ago

Facing??? Should be long gone.

Tomás Lorca
5 years ago

This happened over four months ago. FINA made a public statement vindicating the athlete twenty days ago. WADA still can but has not appealed yet.
And then sometimes it’s him smashing the vials, others say it was his bodyguard, and even his mother was mentioned somewhere.
Is this incident clear enough so as to produce such and incendiary article from it?

Norwo Ezra John
5 years ago

is he returning the medals he won?

Tony MacGuinness
5 years ago
Norwo Ezra John
5 years ago

sad to other olympians that work hard

Jennifer Lentini
5 years ago

Good riddance

Cormac Mc Reynolds
5 years ago

It’s a pity about Sun. I love his stroke technique. Beautiful to watch.

Eric P Johnson
5 years ago

?

Csaba Tót
5 years ago

Zsombor Pertich

Victoria Hart
5 years ago

Amy Killoran

Amy Killoran
5 years ago
Reply to  Victoria Hart

NAUGHTY

Nick Cittadino
5 years ago

Walks like a duck, quacks like a duck…he’s a duck.

Ricardo Espinosa
5 years ago

Rafael Ortega Alva

Rafael Ortega Alva
5 years ago

No, por favor, no

Jesse Goodyear
5 years ago

Jan Goodyear

Deirdre Sheehan
5 years ago

About bloody time ??

Ahmed Hossam
5 years ago

Marwan Asker

Rony Daher
5 years ago

Percy Escobar Coppa

Ian Gerard Dumalag Rusiana

Earl Jason Bilangdal imo idol o.. hahahahaha..

Anis Chabi
5 years ago

Thomas Dufour Mehdi Ayoubi Loïc St-martin Antoine Bernard Lalonde

Cristian Izzini
5 years ago

Cheat! Ban him!

Lynette Besonday-Washburn

Act of a guilty person.

Bryce Whitehead
5 years ago

Sub yang is a joke , been a swimming douche for years

Aly Louise KB
5 years ago

Holly Kelly-Byrne omg

Holly Kelly-Byrne
5 years ago
Reply to  Aly Louise KB

Aly Louise KB good!

Aly Louise KB
5 years ago
Reply to  Aly Louise KB

Holly Kelly-Byrne won’t be missed

Julian Chapev
5 years ago

Every swimmer that had been popped with doing should be banned for life. He’s a disgrace for our sp.ort

Matt Franks
5 years ago

Is anyone surprised???

Misty Demery Crump
5 years ago

Austin Crump

Kent Willis
5 years ago

Good

We have seen this act before
We have seen this act before
5 years ago

Cheaters gonna cheat….

Wendy Walker
5 years ago

Good always was a cheat, about time. ????

Kelly Howell
5 years ago

Has anyone considered that he is a victim of his political circumstance?

Jonny Newsom
5 years ago
Reply to  Kelly Howell

Kelly, no.

Kristine Murphy Grim
5 years ago
Reply to  Kelly Howell

Kelly Howell like the Chinese government is tainting his samples?

Jin Kian
5 years ago
Reply to  Kelly Howell

Same thought . Politicial revenge most probaly from US

Pamela Goldsbro
5 years ago
Reply to  Kelly Howell

Kelly Howell .. No.. who cares.. he’s a drug cheat

Tony MacGuinness
5 years ago
Reply to  Kelly Howell

Pamela Goldsbro
The so called test officials failed to present the correct paperwork and did not have the correct identification with them… Would you allow samples to be taken from you without these credentials?
Fina found in his favour and that he did not break any rules

Pamela Goldsbro
5 years ago
Reply to  Kelly Howell

Tony MacGuinness … thanks for the info. Personally I wouldn’t believe anything that comes out of China… I still have visions of their apparent
“Women’s “ team in Perth 1998.

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