Sun Yang must pay the World Anti-Doping Agency‘s legal costs that were run up defending the Chinese swimmer’s appeal against an eight-year ban.
The three-time Olympic champion was handed the suspension when the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld WADA’s appeal in March 2020 following the manipulation of a testing sample during an out-of-competition doping test at his home in September 2018.
During an evening that became increasingly acrimonious, a blood sample was submitted and signed off for testing before being taken back from the chain of custody and smashed with a hammer.
However, that ban was subsequently overturned in December 2020 by the Swiss Federal Tribunal which agreed that one of the CAS judges – Italian Franco Frattini – had made public anti-Chinese comments which led to a questioning of his impartiality.
Sun Yang – Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant
Although the decision was not made on the merits of the case, it meant that WADA will once more have to present its case to CAS.
The Swiss Federal Tribunal has announced its ruling on the court costs which reads:
Advertising: Shop At Swim360