Chinese swimming icon Sun Yang practicing in hometown Hangzhou
Sports Scene
01:18

The captain of China's national swimming team, Sun Yang, has been training in his hometown of Hangzhou during the ongoing coronavirus or COVID-19 outbreak.

The 28-year-old reached the Olympic qualifying times in the 200 and 400 meter freestyles during last month's races in Shenzhen and Beijing, but still needs more work in the 800 meters and relay events.

Sun has been practicing behind closed doors at the Zhejiang College of Sports, after spending the first part of the winter working with his teammates in Beijing.

The 11-time world champion is now going through two practice sessions per day, both in and out of the pool.

He says his mental state is right where it needs to be, and he's paying a lot of attention to his physical conditioning to make sure the Olympic plan mapped out by his coaches is as successful as possible.

The three-time Olympic gold medalist said, "I must keep training and striving for my personal goals. This is a painstaking process, and it might be harder than preparing for the Asian Games or World Championships, but I always want to prove myself."

Sun is also focused on competing for gold in the 200, 400, and 800 meter freestyle events in Tokyo, and feels the tough routine is worth it, to reach his individual goals.