Weibo users furious over suggestion swimmer Sun Yang can no longer be among the world’s best

A hashtag that was viewed more than 52 million times on Monday, with one local media outlet saying Sun was “not competitive internationally”.

One user replied: “If we have the time to analyze these things (its time), why don’t we think about how to deal with foreign media and how to protect our athletes instead of selling this nonsense?”

Another said: “He is not allowed to compete, is not allowed to participate in (national team) training, how can he achieve results so quickly? The golden age of athletes has been missed. Don’t be too hard on him.

“Apart from the fact that you don’t think he’s competitive now, did you think he wasn’t competitive before he was suspended for so long?”

In 2020, Sun was banned from swimming for four years and three months, down from eight years, after refusing to submit to an out-of-competition anti-doping test the previous two years. It was reported that Sun and his entourage destroyed vials containing his samples. Sun has denied all allegations.

The three-time Olympic champion’s suspension expired in May this year and in an earlier interview he said the four years without competition had been a “dark period”.

Unable to train with the national team, Sun used the swimming pool in his apartment complex and trained so much that his parents became concerned about his mental health, as he was “swimming non-stop”.

“In one training session I would swim about 7,000 to 8,000 meters,” he said. “Some days I would do two of those sessions.”

During his suspension, Sun married former rhythmic gymnast Zhang Doudou and the couple had a daughter, which Sun says helped him get through it.

After Sunday’s race, Sun burst into tears during an interview with reporters after his first place in the 400m heats. When he won the final, Zhang gave him a bouquet of flowers, causing Sun to cry again.

“Four years is long and bitter. I am married and doing my doctorate at Shanghai University of Sport,” Sun said. “But I never thought about retirement during my suspension. I am not as obsessed with rankings and gold medals as I used to be. I care more about the meaning of perseverance and effort.”

On Sunday, Sun said that if the opportunity arises to participate in the 2028 Olympics, he will do everything he can to get it.

In terms of accolades, Sun is one of the best swimmers China has ever produced. He has won gold at the World Championships or the Olympics in every freestyle event from 200m to 1500m. His gold in the 400m at London 2012 was the first time a mainland swimmer had reached an Olympic podium.

But Sun’s career has been mired in controversy. His 2020 suspension wasn’t the first time he’d been suspended.

In 2014, he was suspended for three months by the Chinese Swimming Federation after taking trimetazidine (TMZ), the same substance that eleven members of the Chinese swimming team had previously tested positive for at the Paris Olympics.

In 2013, the three-time Olympic champion was criticized by his coach, Zhu Zhigen, for his lax training habits. In 2014, he spent a week in jail after crashing his car into a bus while driving without a license.

A year later, the coach of the Brazilian national swimming team said that Sun had elbowed and kicked swimmer Larissa Oliveira during the World Championships.