China’s Olympic Champion Sun Yang Set To Race At National Championships This Month

2025 CHINESE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, March 18th – Sunday, March 23rd
• Qingdao, Shandong Province, China
• LCM (50m)

33-year-old Olympic champion Sun Yang is reportedly set to compete at the 2025 Chinese National Championships taking place March 18th through March 23rd in Qingdao, China.

According to The South China Morning Post, Sun is scheduled to race at the non-World Championships qualifier, although the competition does represent a chance to make the team for the Chinese National Games on the schedule for November.

Chinese swimmers’ primary opportunity to qualify for Singapore is the Chinse Spring Championships happening later in March.

The Nationals would represent Sun’s second competitive appearance since his four-year doping ban was lifted in May of last year.

Sun previously raced at the China’s National Summer Swimming Championships last August where the ace put up a time of 3:49.58 in the men’s 400m freestyle.

At the time Sun said, “I could have done better. Four years away from competition, and without intensive training, I do feel rusty in controlling the tempo, and I need more competitions. But it’s a good start for my comeback, and I’m happy with this result.”

Sun Yang‘s Suspension Timeline

• September 2018: Sun challenges authorization of doping control agents during test, ending with a vial of his blood being smashed
• January 2019: an independent anti-doping panel rules in Sun’s favor, leading FINA (the international governing body for swimming) to not issue a sanction against Sun
• March 2019: WADA (the World Anti-Doping Agency) appeals that decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport
• November 2019: CAS hears the case in a fully-public hearing marred by translation issues. The full 11-hour hearing is live-streamed online.
• February 2020: The three-person CAS panel rules against Sun, banning him for eight years.
• July 2020: Sun files two appeals with the Swiss Federal Tribunal, hoping to either have his ban overturned or revised.
• December 2020: The Swiss Federal Tribunal overturns the ban, sending the case back to CAS for a second hearing. The decision centers around the first panel’s president, who tweeted racist comments about China on social media.
• May 2021: Yang does not compete at the Chinese National Championships, amid uncertainty of the outcome of his CAS retrial.
• June 2021: CAS retrial results in ruling to reduce Yang’s ban to 4 years and 3 months
• December 2021: Sun Yang Under Investigation for Training at Government-Funded Facilities
• February 2024: Sun Yang Not Giving Up On Paris 2024
• May 2024: Sun Yang Eyes Return To Competition as Doping Suspension Ends
• August 2024: Sun Yang Reportedly Returning To Racing At China’s Summer National Championships