Sun Yang of China breaks the world record in the men's 1,500-meter freestyle final at the FINA World Championships at the Oriental Sports Center, east China's Shanghai, July 31, 2011. /VCG
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced on Friday that it upheld the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)'s appeal against FINA's decision on Sun Yang, the three-time Olympic swimming champion from China. This means Sun has been banned from swimming competitions.
"The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has upheld the appeal filed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the Chinese swimmer Sun Yang and the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA). As a consequence, Sun Yang (the Athlete) is sanctioned with an eight-year period of ineligibility, starting on the date of the CAS award," the CAS announced on its official website.
Matthieu Reeb, secretary general of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), announces the decision in the arbitration procedure between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) versus the Chinese swimmer Sun Yang and the Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) in Lausanne, Switzerland, February 28, 2020. /VCG
Fortunately, the CAS does not impose a provisional suspension on Sun, meaning that he will be able to keep the honors he won before the CAS award.
In his response to the CAS decision, Sun used the words "shocked" and "furious," making it clear that he has already been working with his lawyers to appeal to the Swiss Federal Court. "I want more people to know what the truth is. I believe I'm innocent and truth will always beat lies."
In a statement, the Chinese Swimming Association (CSA) regretted the CAS decision and stressed its opposition against doping as it always has, noting that it values anti-doping education for Chinese athletes.
Moreover, the CSA expressed its support of Sun safeguarding his eligible rights and interests with legal actions.
Sun Yang (R) of China attends the public hearing of the CAS for the appeal filed by the WADA against him and the FINA, at the Conference Centre of the Fairmont Le Montreux Palace, in Montreux, Switzerland, November 15, 2019. /VCG
The CAS listed two major reasons for finding Sun guilty. First, Sun refused to comply with the sample collection (Tampering with any part of Doping Control); and second, he has not offered convincing proof to justify his behavior.
On September 4, 2018, a three-member doping test team sent by the International Doping Tests & Management (IDTM) requested to collect a blood sample from Sun. The WADA claimed that Sun refused to let the test team take the samples and destroyed the sample containers. According to Sun's side, he was complying with the IDTM team's work but the Doping Control Officer (DCO) and her assistants lacked sufficient authorization and credentials. As a result, the test was incomplete.
Logo of the CAS. /VCG
Following the incident, FINA held a hearing and announced that Sun violated no anti-doping rule and the ITDM test was invalid. In response, the WADA filed an appeal to the CAS against FINA and Sun Yang. demanding a two-to-eight-year-ban on the Chinese swimmer. On November 15, 2019, the CAS held an open hearing over Sun's case and in the following December, the court said the verdict wouldn't be announced before mid-January.
After the hearing, Xinhua News Agency released several clips showing what happened on September 4, 2018. In the clips, both Sun and the test team member admitted that the test was incomplete because the test team "lacked sufficient authorization and credentials." Moreover, the test team agreed not to take the samples.
Sun Yang wins the men's 200-meter freestyle final at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 8, 2016. /VCG
According to Xinhua, one of the test team members admitted "he was not a trained professional Doping Control Assistant (DCA), but a construction worker." However, the CAS found that "the personnel in charge of the doping control complied with all applicable requirements as set out in the International Standard for Testing and Investigations (ISTI)."
As China's ace swimmer, Sun has won 11 World Championships titles and three Olympic gold medals and he is China's biggest hope at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.