Sun Yang Continues Comeback With Entry Into Upcoming Chinese Nationals

2025 CHINESE NATIONAL SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• May 17-24, 2025
• Shenzhen, China
• LCM (50 meters)

Six-time Olympic medalist Sun Yang is scheduled to compete for the third time since serving a four-year ban at the Chinese National Swimming Championships beginning this weekend in Shenzhen.

Sun, 33, served a four-year suspension for an anti-doping rule violation from 2020 until May 2024, and returned to competition last August before hitting the water once again this past March at the Chinese Spring Nationals with an impressive outing in the men’s 400 free (3:47.94).

Now, Sun will compete at the upcoming Nationals, holding entries in the men’s 100, 200, 400 and 800 free, according to Chinese Swimming News and Results on X. He will apparently not be eligible for selection to the World Championship Team (or any other National Team) according to Chinese swim bloggers, pointing to a document that appear to bar any swimmer who has served more than a 1 year doping suspension from those teams.

Sun will notably go head-to-head with 100 free world record holder and Olympic champion Pan Zhanle in the 100, 200 and 400.

Pan will also race the 50 free, while other notable entries for the men include Qin Haiyang in all three breaststroke events, Xu Jiayu in all three backstroke events, and Wang Shun in the 200 IM, 400 IM and 200 free.

Key Entries for Chinese Nationals – Male
Wang Shun: 200/400IM, 200FR
Pan Zhanle：50/100/200/400FR
Xu Jiayu：50/100/200BK
Qin Haiyang：50/100/200BR
Sun Jiajun：50/100BR, 50/100FL
Dong Zhihao：50/100/200BR, 50BK
Sun Yang：100/200/400/800FR
Wang Changhao：50/100FL, 50/100FR, 50BK

— Chinese Swimming News and Results (@CHNswim_fan) May 12, 2025

On the women’s side, notably absent from the entry lists is Yang Junxuan, a six-time Olympic relay medalist and the 2022 world champion in the 200 free.

Yang, who was also 5th in the 200 free and 6th in the 100 free at the Paris Olympics last summer, will therefore be out of the mix for China at the 2025 World Championships as this meet represents the sole selection meet for the Chinese team.

All of the other key names for the Chinese women will be in action, highlighted by Zhang Yufei, Tang Qianting, Li Bingjie and Yu Yiting.

However, Zhang hasn’t entered the 200 fly after winning bronze in the event at last summer’s Olympics in Paris. She won Olympic gold in the 200 in Tokyo, but has put a bit more focus on the sprints since then, including DNS’ing the 200 fly prelims at the 2023 World Championships.

Key Entries for Chinese Nationals – Female
Zhang Yufei：50/100FL, 50/100FR
Li Bingjie：100/200/400/800/1500FR, 400IM
Ye Shiwen：200/400IM, 100/200BR
Tang Qianting：50/100/200BR
Yu Yiting：200/400IM, 50/100FL, 100/200FR、50BK
Liu Yaxin：100/200/400FR, 100/200BK, 400IM

— Chinese Swimming News and Results (@CHNswim_fan) May 12, 2025

Prior to his 2020 suspension, Sun was a dominant force in the men’s distance freestyle events throughout the 2010s, winning Olympic gold in the men’s 400 and 1500 free in 2012 and then claiming the 200 free title in 2016. He also won 11 World Championship gold medals from 2011 to 2019, earning two world titles in the 200 free (2017, 2019), four in the 400 free (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019), three in the 800 free (2011, 2013, 2015) and two in the 1500 free (2011, 2013).

He held the world record in the men’s 1500 free (14:31.02) for 13 years before American Bobby Finke (14:30.67) broke it last summer in Paris.

Sun’s time of 3:47.94 in the 400 free from two months ago is quicker than the World Aquatics ‘A’ cut for the World Championships (3:48.15), meaning he’ll have a very good chance of landing a berth to Singapore if he can secure a top-two finish in the event next week.

The 2025 Chinese National Championships will run for a full week, kicking off on Saturday, May 17, and running through the following Saturday, May 24, in Shenzhen.