The Chinese Swimming Association recently released the "2024 Paris Olympic Games Swimming Event Selection Measures", which is remarkable that athletes who have been banned for more than 1 year due to doping violations will lose their qualification to participate in the Paris Olympics. And this rule seems to have a serious impact on one of the legends of Chinese swimming, Sun Yang.
Sun Yang, 32, was once the pride of Chinese swimming and once became the focus of attention on the global swimming stage. However, since the outbreak of doping in 2019, Sun Yang's career has experienced ups and downs. On March 4, 2022, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court upheld the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against Sun Yang after several appeals, and the ban will remain until the end of May 2024. This also means that according to the selection method released by the association, Sun Yang will not be able to appear in the swimming event of the Paris Olympics.
This news makes people regret that Sun Yang once won glory for the country, won gold medals in the Olympic arena many times, and became a representative figure of Chinese swimming. However, the shadow of the doping scandal seems to never dissipate, and it has become an insurmountable hurdle in his career.
It is worth noting that the selection method stipulates that athletes who have been banned for more than one year cannot be selected for the national team, while Sun Yang's ban will be lifted on April 30, 2024, while the National Swimming Championships will be held in Shenzhen from April 19 to 27. The ingenious design of this time node makes people wonder whether it is to curb the possibility of Sun Yang's comeback.
Sun Yang did not announce his retirement. In an interview a few months ago, he revealed that he has been training in a comprehensive manner and is in good shape. Although these trainings cannot be tested, Sun Yang still seems to have the determination to continue to fight. This has also sparked a lot of speculation about Sun Yang's future career.
Perhaps Sun Yang will face a crossroads in the future: whether to continue to prove his strength in domestic competitions, or to say goodbye to the Paris Olympics and end his career. However, for the Chinese swimming legend, he may have other options.
This decision is also a huge challenge for the Chinese swimming community. Sun Yang's departure means who will become the next leading figure in Chinese swimming, which has become a topic of great concern. The Chinese Swimming Association may need to be more active in nurturing young athletes to be fully prepared for future international competitions.
On the Internet, some people expressed their regret and reluctance for Sun Yang. Some fans expressed the hope that Sun Yang could show his style again in other events and add glory to Chinese swimming. Some netizens also believe that this is a serious attitude towards the doping problem, and it has played a certain warning role in fair competition in the sports world.
In any case, Sun Yang's career is destined to come to an end in this Olympic cycle. He was once the flag of Chinese swimming, and whether this flag can be continued among his successors has become an unsolved mystery.
Perhaps, this is also the norm in the sports world, with heroes and iterations. Sun Yang's story may not be over, but the stage of the Paris Olympics may not be his footsteps. Let's wait and see what the future holds for Chinese swimming.