On March 5, Beijing time, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court issued a statement saying that Chinese swimmer Sun Yang finally lost the appeal and upheld the previous 4-year and 3-month ban against him, which was maintained until the end of May 2024. This official announcement of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court means that the dust of the "Sun Yang case" that has lasted for more than three years has been settled, and Tencent Sports has sorted out the case for you from the point of time.
On the evening of September 4, 2018
IDTM (an IFA-authorized doping testing agency) came to Sun Yang's home in Hangzhou to conduct a flight test (also known as an out-of-race drug test).
That night, Sun Yang questioned the qualifications of the inspectors, resulting in the testing not being completed. At the same time, someone on Sun Yang's side smashed the blood sample bottle that had been sealed.
Sun Yang claimed that he fully cooperated with the inspection, but the testing personnel in the whole process were unprofessional and there were many illegal operations. However, foreign media called Sun Yang's behavior a "violent resistance to prosecution."
Sun Yang's case was first exposed in January 2019, when the Chinese Swimming Association issued an official statement that foreign media reported that Sun Yang's refusal to doping tests did not correspond to the facts.
January 3
FINA ruled that the flight drug test was invalid and that Sun Yang did not have doping violations. In other words, FINA is supportive of Sun Yang, believing that the test that occurred on the evening of September 4, 2018 is ineffective.
March 12
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), unhappy with the FINA ruling, appealed to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). WADA's position is very clear, believing that Sun Yang has serious violations and anti-inspection behavior.
November 15
The hearing on the "Sun Yang case" was held in Montreux, Switzerland, for ten hours. The hearing allowed the media and the public to enter the hearing site and broadcast it globally via the Internet. Sun Yang, Sun Yang's mother and others testified at the scene. The verdict was not immediately pronounced on the day of the hearing.
It is worth mentioning that from the "violent resistance to the inspection" exposed by foreign media to the hearing in November, Sun Yang competed normally during this period. At the FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea in July 2019, Sun Yang won the 200m and 400m freestyle championships, proving that he is still the world's top athlete.
February 28, 2020
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CIRT) announced the verdict of the hearing in Sun Yang's case, and Sun Yang was banned for eight years, effective immediately. Sun Yang then appealed to the Swiss High Court at the last moment of the appeal date.
Because of the epidemic and other reasons, the progress of Sun Yang's case is relatively slow. After the appeal, Sun Yang posted evidence on his personal social media to prove his innocence.
December 24, 2020
Sun Yang's team received the verdict of the Swiss Federal High Court to revoke the previous ruling of the International Court of Arbitration for Sport involving Sun Yang, and Sun Yang's case took a big turn at this time, and some people even boldly believed that Sun Yang would not be banned and was expected to participate in the Tokyo Olympic Games held with a one-year postponement.
Evidence provided by Sun Yang's team showed that one of the arbitrators in the arbitration panel of the International Court of Arbitration for Sport, Vladini, was biased and discriminated against, and the Swiss High Court revoked the 8-year ban imposed on Sun Yang by the International Court of Arbitration for Sport.
It is important to note, however, that the Swiss High Court only ruled on underlying procedural issues and human rights, not on the interpretation of the law by the WADA Panel. In other words, there was no problem in the Sun Yang case in terms of procedure and evidence, but the arbitration team made a mistake in employing the personnel.
May 25, 2021
The Court of Arbitration for Sport reconvened its hearings and a newly formed arbitration panel reconsidered. The new three-member arbitration panel is chaired by the Swiss Hans Nettle, with the Frenchman Jean-Paulson and the Belgian Bernard Hanotia.
Due to the epidemic, the hearing was held online and was not made public. A spokesman for switzerland's court of arbitration for sport said the outcome of the arbitration would be made by the end of June.
June 22, 2021
The International Court of Arbitration for Sport announced that Sun Yang's 8-year ban was reduced to 4 years and 3 months. The 4-year and 3-month ban period (i.e. 51 months) is calculated from February 28, 2020, which also confirms Sun Yang's lack of access to the Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.
Sun Yang still did not approve of this sentence and continued to appeal.
March 4, 2022
On March 4, 2022 (local time), the Swiss Federal Supreme Court announced that Sun Yang lost the final appeal against the ban for violating anti-doping rules, and the ban was maintained until the end of May 2024. In this way, the dust of Sun Yang's case, which lasted for more than three years, was settled. (Ren Xin)