Three-time Olympic gold medalist Sun Yang, who experienced a setback due, to doping infractions is eager to stage a comeback in swimming following a four-year suspension. Given an eight-year ban by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 2020 for manipulating blood samples during a 2018 test—a matter he continues to contest—Sun Yang’s penalty was later lessened to four years and three months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in 2021. Now that his ban has concluded the Chinese freestyle swimmer is resolute, in his intention to return to the water and reignite his spirit.

The 32 year old swimmer is fully prepared to participate in the National Summer Swimming Championships beginning this Sunday in Hefei. He will proudly represent his hometown of Zhejiang. With his doping ban officially behind him as of May 28, Yang’s team wasted no time in rallying support, saying on social media, “Exceed yourself. Be a fearless swimmer.” This marks a fresh start for Yang as he gears up to make waves and prove himself anew in the pool.

The championships are a prestigious Class B national swimming event in China. State media reported that Olympic gold medallist Sun Yang will compete in the 400-meter freestyle, the event he won at the 2012 London Games. During his suspension, Sun missed the Paris Olympics trials, as China’s swim team faced heavy scrutiny over doping.

But what controversy put the Sun in the spotlight? Remember that 23 swimminer?

Sun Yang cleared but faces an uncertain future

This year, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed that traces of the banned heart medication trimetazidine were found in 23 Chinese swimmers before the Tokyo Games. WADA accepted China’s investigation, which concluded that the contamination came from the hotel kitchen where the team stayed. Sun Yang, who had previously been suspended for three months in 2014 for using trimetazidine to treat a heart condition, is now cleared to compete. However, under China’s doping rules, athletes with suspensions longer than a year are ineligible for national team selection, making Sun’s return to representing China unlikely.

China performed well at the Paris Olympics clinching a total of 12 medals, in swimming, which also included two gold medals. Pan Zhanle made history by breaking the world record in the men’s 100m freestyle event while China secured gold in the men’s 4x100m relay bringing an end, to the United States’ longstanding dominance in that category. Despite these achievements, Wang Wei, the director of the Zhejiang Provincial Swimming Sports Management Centre pointed out that both Pan and his provincial teammate Wang Shun. A champion who claimed bronze in the men’s 200m individual medley this year. Were surprisingly left out of Zhejiang’s team roster for their upcoming competition.