Weibo users in China have reacted with fury after local media suggested disgraced swimmer Sun Yang could no longer cut it as one of the best in the world.
Sun, 32, won the men’s 400 metres freestyle final at the National Summer Swimming Championships in Hefei on Sunday with a time of 3 minutes and 49.58 seconds, in his first competitive race since the end of his four-year doping ban.
His time was almost 10 seconds slower than the Olympic record time of 3:40.14 that he put up in London 2012, and almost eight seconds slower than the 3:41.78 Germany’s Lukas Martens swam to win gold at the Paris Olympics.
A hashtag highlighting that was viewed more than 52 million times on Monday, with one local media outlet saying Sun “lacks competitiveness internationally”.
One user replied: “If we have the time to analyse these things [his time], why don’t we think about how to deal with foreign media and how to protect our athletes instead of talking this nonsense?”
Another said: “He is not allowed to participate in competitions, not allowed to participate in [national team] training, how can he achieve results so quickly? The golden period of athletes has been missed. Don’t be too harsh on him.
“Apart from the fact that you feel he lacks competitiveness now, did you feel he lacked competitiveness before he was suspended for so long?”
In 2020, Sun was banned from swimming for four years and three months, reduced from eight years, after he refused to cooperate in an out-of-competition anti-doping test in the previous two years. It was reported that Sun and his entourage smashed blood vials containing his samples. Sun has denied all allegations.
The three-time Olympic champion’s ban ended in May this year, and in a previous interview, he said that the four years out of competition was a “dark time”.
Unable to train with the national team, Sun used the pool in his apartment complex and trained so much that he said his parents became concerned for his mental health because he was “non-stop swimming”.
“In one training session, I was swimming about 7,000 to 8,000 metres,” he said. “On some days, I would do two of those sessions.”
During his ban, Sun married former rhythmic gymnast Zhang Doudou, and the pair had a daughter, something he said helped him pull through.
After Sunday’s race, Sun broke down in tears while giving an interview to journalists following his first place finish in the 400m heats. When he won the final, Zhang presented him with a bouquet, again causing Sun to cry.
“Four years is long and bitter. I got married, and I’m pursuing my PhD at Shanghai University of Sport,” Sun said. “But I never thought of retirement while serving the ban. I’m not as obsessed with rankings and gold medals as I used to be. I care more about the meaning of perseverance and endeavour.”
On Sunday, Sun said that should the opportunity to compete at the 2028 Olympics presents itself, he would “go all out” to get it.
In terms of accolades, Sun is one of the best swimmers China has ever produced. He holds either world championship or Olympic gold in all freestyle events from the 200m to the 1500m. His gold in the 400m at London 2012 was the first time a mainland swimmer topped an Olympic podium.
But Sun’s career is shrouded in controversy. His 2020 ban was not the first time he had been suspended.
In 2014, he was banned for three months by the Chinese Swimming Association after he had taken trimetazidine (TMZ), the same substance that 11 of the country’s swim team at the Paris Olympics had previously tested positive for.
In 2013, the three-time Olympic champion was criticised by his coach, Zhu Zhigen, over lax training habits. In 2014, he spent a week in jail after he crashed his car into a bus while driving without a licence.
A year later, the coach of Brazil’s national swimming team said Sun tried to elbow and kick female swimmer Larissa Oliveira at the world championships.
