As ban ends, Sun hopes to rise again
China DailyFollowing his return from suspension, China's triple Olympic champion Sun Yang won the men's 400m freestyle at the 2024 National Summer Swimming Championships on Sunday. XINHUA After more than 1,600 days away from competition, China's disgraced Olympic champion swimmer Sun Yang has returned to winning ways, eyeing redemption following a controversial anti-doping rule violation. He won his first official race in 55 months on Sunday, clocking 3 min and 49.58 sec to finish first in the men's 400m freestyle final at the national summer championships, a second-tier domestic meet in Hefei, East China's Anhui province — an event that would never normally find itself under such scrutiny, were it not for Sun's return. Fans were thrilled to see Sun's return, with the hashtag "Sun Yang wins 400m freestyle" quickly becoming one of the most trending topics on Chinese social media on Sunday night.