Swimming

Unshaken by the winter chill, dozens of swimmers in Wuhan, China, are plunging into the Yangtze River in a tradition that was made famous by Mao Zedong, founder of communist China. About a year ago, Wuhan was the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, but the city has emerged from its long lockdown and the bracing dips are one-way residents are returning to their routines.

Chinese superstar swimmer Sun Yang paid for the “huge risk” he took in the controversial doping test that led to him being banned for eight years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The court on Wednesday published its full report into the case brought by the World Anti-Doping Agency against Sun Yang and swimming governing body Fina, with the 78-page document making for damning reading. The report is highly critical of Sun and his team for their actions from the out-of-competition test at his home in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou in September 2018 through to the end of the CAS hearing last November. On the night of testing, Sun gave a blood sample before taking issue with the cred

“I am the king,” Sun Yang said at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. He was referring to his position in the 1,500m freestyle and his rivalry with Australian swimmer Mack Horton, but he could have been talking in general. Much like the other “Sun King,” Louis XIV of France, China’s superstar swimmer has surrounded himself with a court of flatterers and sycophants. That is why Sun, 28, only talks to state-run media Xinhua and CCTV, plus two or three Chinese print journalists, as he knows the coverage will be positive. Heaven forbid there was any negativity, or worse: people preferred rival Ning Zetao, as some fans and media did. This and the literal embrace of swimming’s governing body – Sun was hug

Sun Yang is the shining star of Chinese swimming, but the Olympic champion’s future hangs in the balance ahead of next summer’s Tokyo Olympic Games. The 27-year-old faces a doping hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland starting on November 15. At the swimmer’s insistence, it will be a public hearing, with the court expected to live-stream it online. So how did we get here? It all stems back to an incident at Sun’s home on September 4, 2018 during an out-of-competition drug test. This was reported by Britain’s The Sunday Times newspaper in January 2019. Sun questioned the credentials of a member of the doping control team who had showed up at his home to test him. Sun co

Wang Jiachao was born in a remote village in the tropical Chinese province of Yunnan. When he was five, he lost his left arm at the shoulder in an accidental electrocution. Now 27, he is a bonafide star — having won one gold, four silvers and one bronze medal in swimming in three Paralympic Games. Having retired from swimming, he got a bachelor’s and a master’s degree and reinvented himself as a professional triathlete. Now Wang is preparing to fulfill his dream of another Paralympic gold at Tokyo 2020. “I was chosen,” he said of how he became a professional athlete. “One day, county officials came to our village to issue disability certificates. They saw me and said I should go to Kunming t

Chinese fans are expressing support online for swimmer Sun Yang, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, after he feuded with competitors at the World Aquatics Championships in South Korea. On Tuesday, Sun won gold in the 200-meter freestyle at the competition, which is the second-most important competition in water sports after the Olympics. At the medal ceremony, Duncan Scott, a joint bronze medalist from the UK, refused to shake Sun’s hand or pose for photographs with the Chinese swimmer. Upset by the podium snub, Sun taunted Scott in English after the ceremony. Sun Yang to Duncan Scott: "You're a loser. I'm a winner." pic.twitter.com/W1AhD6XekV — Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) July 23, 2019 Scot

The international swimming community is in mourning after Kenneth To, a star Hong Kong swimmer, died at the age of 26 in Florida. “Words cannot express how saddened I am at the passing of Kenneth To,” Ryan Lochte, a 12-time Olympic medalist, said in a social media post. “I’m so grateful to have been able to call him a friend and to have gotten to know him over the past several years,” Lochte said. Words cannot express how saddened I am at the passing of Kenneth To. The world has lost an incredible human being. I’m so grateful to have been able to call him a friend and to have… https://t.co/5lnnGzYHOG — Ryan Lochte (@RyanLochte) March 19, 2019 One of Hong Kong’s best hopes in the 2020 Tokyo O

On a freezing lake in China’s capital, Beijingers are taking to the waters. “Winter swimming,” as enthusiasts call it, refers to taking a dip in sub-zero temperatures. Some believe it has great health benefits, while others say the shock to your system is risky. We meet some winter swimmers who try to convince us it’s a good idea.