Sun Yang

At 32 years old, Sun Yang has this physical status:

Sun made his international debut at the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia. He finished 32nd in the 400 metre freestyle and 23rd in the 800 metre freestyle. In early 2008, he competed at the "Good Luck Beijing" China Open, a test event for the 2008 Summer Olympics. He finished 2nd in the 400 metre freestyle with a time of 3:49.34. At the Olympics, Sun, aged 16, finished 28th in the 400 metre freestyle, unable to reach the final. He later came 7th in the qualifying heats of the 1500 metre freestyle, reaching the final, where he finished last. Sun rebounded the following year at the 2009 World Championships, where he won his first international medal, a bronze, in the 1500 metre freestyle with a time of 14:46.84. He finished 18th in the 400 metre freestyle with a time of 3:47.51.

Sun achieved further success during the 2010 Asian Games. He won gold medals in the 1500 metre freestyle and the 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay, and silver medals in the 200 metre and 400 metre freestyle. His 1500-metre freestyle time of 14:35.43 was a new Asian record and the second-fastest time in history, behind Grant Hackett, whose record Sun would surpass the following year. Sun was subsequently named Rookie of the Year at the 2010 China Central Television (CCTV) Sports Awards.

On the first day of competition at the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai, Sun came 2nd in the 400 metre freestyle with a time of 3:43.24, 1.2 seconds behind South Korean Park Tae-hwan. Three days later, Sun won his first World Championship title in the 800 metre freestyle with a time of 7:38.57. After a day of rest, he swam the anchor leg in the 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay, helping the Chinese team win bronze. The last day of competition, Sun competed in the 1500 metre freestyle. He won the race with a time of 14:34.14, ten seconds ahead of the rest of the competition. At age 19, Sun beat Hackett's world record of 14:34.56, which had stood for ten years. This was the longest-held world record in swimming and the only men's swimming world record not to have been beaten during the techsuit era.

For the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sun was considered a favourite in the 400 metre and 1500 metre freestyle, as well as a contender in the 200 metre freestyle. In his first event, the 400 metre freestyle, he won the gold medal with a time of 3:40.14, breaking the Olympic record previously held by Ian Thorpe and becoming the first Chinese male swimmer to win a gold medal at the Olympics. His time was also the third fastest in history, 0.07 seconds away from the world record, and setting a new Asian record. After a day of recuperating, Sun competed in the 200 metre freestyle. He won a silver medal in the final, tying with Park Tae-hwan with a time of 1:44.93, a new national record. The following day, Sun swam the anchor leg in the 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay to help the Chinese team win bronze, China's first Olympic medal in a men's relay event.

After the relay, Sun did not return to the pool until the last day of competition to compete in his strongest event, the 1500 metre freestyle. He had qualified for the final with the fastest time. At the initial line-up on the starting blocks, a step-down command was issued because of noise from the crowd, but instead of stepping back, Sun reacted by diving in. The officials ruled the early dive was the result of crowd noise and did not constitute a false start, and Sun was allowed to continue in the competition. He went on to win the race with a time of 14:31.02, breaking his own world record by over three seconds. He finished over eight seconds ahead of second-place finisher, Canadian Ryan Cochrane. With two gold medals and a team bronze medal, Sun became the most decorated Chinese male swimmer in Olympic history, and the first swimmer to win the 400/1500 double since Vladimir Salnikov at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Sun completed the last 50 metres of the race in 25.68 seconds, nearly two seconds faster than Cochrane.

From 28 July to 4 August 2013, Sun competed at the World Championships. On the first day of competition, he won gold in the 400 metre freestyle with a time of 3:41.59. It was nearly 1.5 seconds off his Olympic-winning time from the previous year, but he was still 3.23 seconds ahead of runner-up Kosuke Hagino. Two days later, Sun retained his title in the 800 metre freestyle with a time of 7:41.36. It was his second gold medal in the Championship and the 100th gold medal won by China in World Aquatics Championships' history.

On the sixth day of competition, Sun was tasked with swimming the anchor leg for the 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay. China barely qualified for the final in eighth place. Going into the last leg of the race, China was in fifth place, over two seconds behind France and Japan, but Sun was able to overtake both teams in the end for a final time of 1:43.16. This was the second-fastest split time in history and 1.82 seconds faster than the other 31 swimmers in the final, including Ryan Lochte and Yannick Agnel. Accounting for the relay exchange advantage, it was still over a second faster than his flat start time of 1:44.93.

On the final day of the competition, Sun successfully defended his title in the 1500 metre freestyle. He finished with a time of 14:41.15, beating runner-up Ryan Cochrane by 1.33 seconds. This result made Sun the second swimmer in history, after Grant Hackett, to win gold medals in all three long-distance freestyle events—400, 800, and 1500 metre—in a single World Championships.

One month later, Sun competed in the 2013 National Games of China. Aiming to become the first man to win seven gold medals at a single championship, he added to his range the 100 metre freestyle, an event typically reserved for sprinters. With the games holding the same schedule as the Olympics, he competed first in the 400 metre freestyle, winning in 3:43.68—over a second ahead of Hao Yun. The following day, Sun won the 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay, swimming the anchor leg in 48.14 seconds. He followed these performances the next day by setting a new Asian record in the 200 metre freestyle with a time of 1:44.47, about half a second faster than his time in London. The following day, he won bronze in the 100 metre freestyle, finishing with a time of 48.94 seconds, his first time finishing under 49 seconds.

In May 2014, the Chinese Swimming Association banned Sun for three months after he tested positive for trimetazidine, a drug that was banned four months earlier and classified as a stimulant at the time by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Sun said that a doctor prescribed the drug to treat heart palpitations, a condition he has suffered since 2008, and was unaware that it had been newly added to the banned substances list. After reviewing the full case file, WADA chose not to pursue the case after an investigation.They also announced that they would not challenge the CSA's decision to impose a three-month sanction. Since Sun's ban, WADA has reclassified trimetazidine from an S6 stimulant (prohibited in competition) to an S4 hormone and metabolic modulator (prohibited in and out of competition).

Following his doping ban, Sun made a comeback in his first post-suspension event in the 2014 China Spring Nationals, where he won a gold medal in the 200 metre freestyle. At the 2014 Asian Games, Sun participated in the 200, 400, and 1500 metre freestyle events. He won silver in the 200 metre freestyle, finishing behind Kosuke Hagino. In the 400 metre freestyle, he came 1st with a time of 3:43.23, which was 1.25 seconds ahead of runner-up Hagino. Leading from start to finish, Sun won gold in the 1500 metre freestyle. He finished with a time of 14:49.75, over five seconds ahead of runner-up Kohei Yamamoto. Sun also participated in the 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay, helping China win gold with an overall time of 3:13.17, setting a new Asian Record in the event.

At the 2015 World Championships, Sun won silver in the 200 metre freestyle with a time of 1:45.20, finishing 0.06 seconds behind James Guy. In the 400 metre freestyle, he won gold with a time of 3:42.58, finishing 1.17 seconds ahead of Guy. He finished 1st in the 800 metre freestyle with a time of 7:39.96, which was 0.85 seconds ahead of runner-up Gregorio Paltrinieri.

In the 1500 metre freestyle, where he was the two-time defending champion, Sun withdrew from the competition, later citing heart problems during a warm-up. "I feel very sorry that I couldn't be present for the 1500m", Sun told reporters. "I didn't feel good in my heart. Today I felt really uncomfortable at the pool during my warm-up and I had to give up the idea of competing. I feel really sorry about that."

At the World Championships, Sun was accused by Brazilian coaches of assaulting one of their female swimmers, Larissa Oliveira. Brazil team spokeswoman Eliana Alves told the Associated Press that there was "contact" between Sun and Oliveira, "but it was not a fight". Swimming's world governing body, FINA, later cleared Sun of any wrongdoing. FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu explained that the altercation that led to a complaint against Sun was due to congestion in the warm-up pool, and did not warrant further action. According to Marculescu, there were over 1,000 swimmers present, so the preparation pool became very crowded.

In June 2016, Sun competed at the Arena Pro Swim Series finale in Santa Clara, California. He won the 200 metre freestyle event with a time of 1:44.82, giving him 1st in the world ranks.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Sun won the 200 metre freestyle with a time of 1:44.65, finishing 0.55 seconds ahead of runner-up Chad le Clos. It was Sun's first major international title in this event, and he became the first Chinese athlete to win a gold medal in this event. He won a silver medal in the 400 metre freestyle with a time of 3:41.68, finishing 0.13 seconds behind Mack Horton of Australia. Sun finished 16th in the qualifying heats of the 1500 metre freestyle, clocking in at 15:01.97. With his 200-metre freestyle gold medal and his 400 and 1500 metre freestyle gold medals from the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sun became the first swimmer in history to win Olympic gold medals in the 200, 400, and 1500 metre freestyle events.

The lead-up to the 400 metre freestyle was marred by controversy. Sun was accused of splashing water into rival Horton's face during practice. Horton accused Sun of attempting to distract him. Sun and Xu Qi, the Chinese swim team manager, denied the allegations and said it must have been a misunderstanding. Horton responded by accusing Sun of being a "drug cheat", in reference to his 2014 suspension. Horton's social media pages garnered negative criticism from Chinese fans, with many calling the Australian as a racist, a "snake", and a "disrespectful person". The Chinese Swimming Association requested an apology for the allegation, stating that Horton's claims "have greatly damaged sporting ties between China and Australia, and damaged the image of Australian athletes"; the request was turned down. Further controversy arose when the Global Times, a Chinese newspaper, printed critical editorials about Australia. An op-ed piece in another Chinese newspaper, Changjiang Daily, called for calm and indicated that the dispute was only between the two athletes and should not become a conflict between the two countries.

In 2017, Sun competed at the World Championships. In the 200 metre freestyle, Sun won gold with a time of 1:44.39, setting a new Asian and Chinese national record. In the 400 metre freestyle, he won gold with a time of 3:41.38, finishing 2.47 seconds ahead of runner-up Mack Horton and winning his third straight 400 metre freestyle world title. Sun finished 5th in the 800 metre freestyle, failing to defend his title. He withdrew from the 1500 metre freestyle.

In August 2018, Sun competed in every freestyle event from the 200 to the 1500 metre freestyle at the Asian Games. He also competed in the 4 × 100 and 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay events. In the 200 metre freestyle, Sun won gold with a time of 1:45.43. He finished 1st in the 400 metre freestyle with a time of 3:42.92, over four seconds ahead of runner-up Naito Ehara. By beating Horton's time of 3:43.76 from the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Sun became the number-one swimmer in the world for that event for 2018. In the men's 800 metre freestyle, which was introduced to the Asian Games for the first time, he won gold with a time of 7:48.36. In the 1500 metre freestyle, he finished 1st with a time of 14:58.53, beating runner-up Nguyễn Huy Hoàng by over three seconds. It was the first time Sun swam the event within 15 minutes since the 2014 Asian Games, and his third consecutive Asian Games title in the 1500 metre freestyle. Representing China, Sun helped his team finish second in the 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay with an overall time of 3:13.29, behind Japan's time of 3:12.68. In the 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay, he helped China win silver with an overall time of 7:05.45, behind Japan's 7:05.17.

In September 2018, Sun experienced an out-of-competition test at his home. Following investigations, FINA's inquiry panel ultimately concluded that "Mr. Sun Yang has not committed an anti-doping rule violation", which FINA accepted. In December at the 2018 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m), Sun participated in the 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay, helping China win bronze.

At the 2019 World Championships, Sun finished 2nd behind Danas Rapšys in the 200 metre freestyle. After the race was over, Rapšys was disqualified for a false start, giving Sun the gold and his third straight medal in the event at the World Championships. In the 400 metre freestyle, Sun won gold with a time of 3:42.44, finishing 0.73 seconds ahead of runner-up Horton and earning his fourth consecutive title in this event.He is the first and the only swimmer to do so.

Sun clashed with Duncan Scott during the 200 metre freestyle presentation. Both the British and Australian camps had been critical about Sun's actions the year prior. Scott refused to share the podium with Sun, and neither competitor shook hands, after which Sun could be seen gesturing and shouting at Scott. In a similar incident a few days earlier, Australian swimmer Mack Horton had also refused to share the podium with Sun. Horton was given an official warning by the sport's organising body, FINA. Following the medal ceremonies, Horton, Scott, and Sun were served letters by FINA, warning them about their behaviour. In a statement, FINA said: "While FINA respects the principle of freedom of speech, it has to be conducted in the right context ... [athletes should not] use FINA events to make personal statements or gestures".

Despite Horton not having any evidence of cheating against Sun Yang, except for the circumstantial FINA and later CAS ruling against Sun on unrelated charges, he claims to “know” that Sun Yang was doping, and says his stance is not personal or due to national prejudice.

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