After 51 months of waiting, Sun Yang finally ushered in the lifting of the ban, or returned to the stage of the National Games after 8 years

Beiqing Sports

2024-05-28 10:18Posted on the official account of Beijing Beiqing Sports News

May 28 is just an ordinary day for many, but for Sun Yang, a two-time Olympic swimming champion in London and Rio, it means a different thing, marking the restart of his swimming career. According to the final ruling of the Swiss Federal Court at the end of 2020, Sun Yang's ban will end on May 28, 2024, so that the 51-month ban has been completed since the implementation of the Court of Arbitration for Sport on February 28, 2020, and the 32-and-a-half-year-old pool veteran has been given a new lease of life. The first stop of his comeback may be the National Swimming Summer Championships held in Hefei at the end of August, and in the 2025 Greater Bay Area National Games, if Sun Yang can maintain his current competitive state, he will most likely be able to re-wear the Zhejiang team jersey and appear in the pool of the Shenzhen Universiade Center, returning to the stage of the National Games after 8 years.

Why is the end of Sun Yang's ban a restart of his competitive career? Because in the past 51 months, Sun Yang has not only never said that he wants to retire, but also firmly expressed his desire and determination to continue swimming many times through his social platforms and media interviews. For any athlete engaged in competitive sports, 4 years and 3 months is an extremely long and painful time, not to mention that Sun Yang's project is in every way a "youth competition" that requires strong physical support, and he has already passed the peak of his career. But it was during this bleak day that he did not choose to be depressed, he gritted his teeth and persevered, and chose to make a comeback.

At the end of March, Sun Yang was able to resume training in public venues. On April 24, Sun Yang's studio released a 28-second video, with concise and concise text, but it clearly expressed his firm determination and eager expectation for a comeback: "Going into the water is the best start, insist on hard work, have the courage to challenge, and eventually break through yourself." There is love, there is expectation. ”

It is impossible to feel and know his current competitive level from the video alone, and many swimming fans who still care about him may also worry about whether Sun Yang can meet the standard of a national-level outstanding athlete now, and if he wants to make a comeback, at least his results must be higher than a certain threshold. On this issue, everyone can rest assured. It is not realistic for Sun Yang, who is nearly 33 years old, to compete in the long-distance event again, but he has a very strong competitiveness in the 200-meter freestyle and 400-meter freestyle. Especially in the 200-meter distance, it is not an exaggeration to say that Sun Yang still belongs to the range of top and first-class players in China.

Of course, this needs to be tested by the official competition, since he will not be able to participate in the international competition in a short time, the domestic competition will become Sun Yang's touchstone, and depending on Sun Yang's next plan and specific dynamics, he will announce it through his own channels in due course.

In any case, it was extremely difficult for Sun Yang to choose to stay in the pool without sinking in the long ban period and not being destroyed by the huge blow. In the past few years, Sun Yang's exposure is certainly far less than when he repeatedly achieved good results in domestic and international competitions and repeatedly achieved new breakthroughs in Chinese swimming, so eye-catching, but he has never been forgotten, and he has always maintained a positive and indomitable attitude to life.

Sun Yang's tenacity during the darkest period of his career, as well as the difficult comeback journey ahead, are a severe test of his personal will, the first test is over, and the next step is to prove that he still has the strength of a top player. The first game of his comeback should receive a lot of attention, and I hope he can succeed, even if he does not reproduce the domineering spirit of "The Return of the King", at least he can tell everyone with his results: I'm still here, I'm okay.

Regardless of the outcome, Sun Yang's twists and turns will be an integral part of the history of Chinese swimming and even the history of sports. Because he is the only Chinese swimmer who has won two consecutive Olympic Games; He is the only athlete in Asia to win and win the MVP of the World Championships; He is the Chinese swimmer with the most Olympic gold medals (3) and World Championships gold medals (11); He is the only Asian double winner of the 200m freestyle world championships and Olympic champions...... Sun Yang still has a lot of honors, of course, there are also a lot of controversies, if he can set sail again after the storm, reshape his personal image, and win glory for his hometown and team in the pool again, he is a "real excellent athlete" and deserves such an evaluation.

Text/Beiqing Sports Liu Ailin

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