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Sun Yang
SportChina

Sun Yang is ‘suspended’ says Chinese Swimming Association after Tokyo 2020 training reports

  • Reports that superstar was among those called up for three-month national team camp now refuted by swim chiefs
  • Appeal over eight-year ban from Court of Arbitration for Sport still on hold with Swiss Federal Tribunal at coronavirus standstill

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Sun Yang is still hoping to compete at next year’s Olympics in Tokyo. Photo: DPA
Jonathan White
The Chinese Swimming Association has issued a statement to reaffirm that Sun Yang is suspended after reports in Chinese media appeared to confirm he was still training with the national team for the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
China’s superstar swimmer was banned from the pool for eight years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in February.

“Sun is still under suspension after the CAS decision, even if he is in the process of appealing,” the CSA’s statement on Thursday said. “Therefore the circular (2020) 49 is voided”.

This referred to a previous circular issued by the Swimming Management Center of the State General Administration of Sport to the Zhejiang Provincial Sports Bureau on the convening of national swimming team training.

That document, which called up Sun to a three-month training camp in his home province of Zhejiang, was published by the Beijing Youth Daily newspaper on Wednesday.

The newspaper confirmed with “relevant persons close to Sun Yang” that the triple Olympic champion was one of 17 swimmers called up to the national squad in the document. Training, which was scheduled to run from April 1 to June, is based in either Zhejiang or in Beijing as a measure to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

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