Chinese swimmer Sun Yang’s doping case heads to court

LAUSANNE: A doping case involving Chinese swimmer Sun Yang is going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and could lead to a ban from competition, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The World Anti-Doping Agency have appealed against a decision by swimming’s governing body to only give the three-time Olympic champion a warning in a case involving the destruction of a doping control sample, the court said on Wednesday.

British newspaper the Sunday Times reported incidents involving Sun Yang when a doping control official visited his home in China last September. A vial of Sun Yang’s blood was reportedly smashed with a hammer, and his entourage disputed the official’s credentials.

CAS said they have not set a date for the hearing. It is unclear if the appeal case can be resolved before the swimming world championships in July in Gwangju, South Korea.

Citing the confidential legal process, WADA declined to say if they will seek a fast-track hearing. Sun Yang’s legal team would also have to agree to speed up the process at CAS, which typically takes months to prepare cases.

The 27-year-old Sun Yang served a three-month ban in 2014 for testing positive for a substance then classed as a stimulant. That case was conducted in relative secrecy in China.

Sun Yang would face a more severe sanction for a second violation of doping rules.

The freestyle swimmer won gold at each of the past two Olympics, in the 400m and 1,500m at the 2012 London Games and in the 200 at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

In Rio, Australia’s Mack Horton called Sun Yang a “drug cheat” before taking his rival’s 400m title, leaving the defending champion with silver. Horton ignored Sun Yang’s attempt to congratulate him in the pool.

Sun Yang also won multiple individual gold medals at each of the past four world championships, which were unaffected by his previous ban.

FINA, the governing body of swimming, said on Wednesday they “welcome CAS’s scrutiny.”

“All of FINA’s disciplinary decisions, however, form part of a very robust anti-doping programme that has proven highly effective in ensuring clean competition at the World Championships and Olympic Games,” the Lausanne-based organisation said. – AP