On January 27, 2019, The British published an article that shocked the swimming world. Olympic champion and world champion Sun Yang's team is suspected of destroying the simmer's blood test with a hammer in connection with a doping check - but Sun has nevertheless been free to compete.

The Chinese, which is one of the world's leading free swimmers, has certainly been suspended for doping for three months in 2014, but the new information was still astonishing.

And the criticism among European swimmers did not wait.

“Shattered with a hammer? He snubbed me for a World Cup title and my third Olympic medal. Well, life goes on! ” British swimmer James Guy tweeted in connection with the publication.

“Sun Yang has to be one of the most controversial sports in the Olympic context. He repeatedly fails or destroys his doping tests, but still manages to avoid punishment due to administrative technicalities, ”Lizzie Simmonds tweeted, including her British swimmer. She ended her tweet with a few words that have etched itself into the Sun report: "He's the doping Harry Houdini" citing the 19th-century magician who was known for his ability to break out of chains and forced jerseys on stage.

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But most of all in his protest, Mack Horton has gone. Already at the Rio 2016 Olympics, the Australian swimmer demanded that Sun Yang be turned off. During the World Cup in South Korea, Horton again showed his displeasure and did not step up on the podium along with the World Cup gold medalist from China.

The event that has created such great waves in the swimming world occurred on the evening of September 4, 2018 when an unannounced anti-doping team showed up at Sun's home in Zhejiang Province in eastern China. The team belongs to the organization IDTM, International Doping Test and Management, which is tasked with performing doping tests worldwide and is headquartered in Stockholm. Now they demanded to have a routine urine and blood test at Sun.

This is where it gets strange. According to testimonials to the Sunday Times, both Sun Yang and his mother Ming Yang began to strongly question the credibility of the anti-doping team. They demanded that the team show paper proving their professional skills and Sun refused to submit an approved urine sample.

However, he let a nurse take a blood test, but the dispute went so far that the security guard at Ming Yang's request must have produced a hammer and broken the sealed bottle. Sun's blood ran down the floor in front of the eyes of the anti-doping team and no test could be sent to the international doping organization Wada as planned.

By this time, Sun's doctor Ba Zhen had arrived at the scene. Ba Zhen is highly suspected of being involved in Sun's doping suspension in 2014. According to the allegations, he was responsible for finding the stimulant Trimetazidine found in Sun's body, the reason the swimmer was turned off. Together with colleague Han Zhaoqi, chief medical officer in charge of Zhejiang Province's anti-doping center, Ba Zhen later witnessed the hearing in the evening.

Fine, the International Swimming Association, began investigating what happened and wrote a report published in early January 2019. It says that the Swimming Association in October 2018 sent a letter to Sun Yang stating that he violated the doping rules because the swimmer refused or failed to submit a doping test.

In November, Fina's doping panel will hold a hearing on the case in Lausanne, Switzerland. Sun Yang is there, as are several witnesses from both parties. Several IDTM experts, one of them responsible for the doping control at Sun's home on September 4, are reinforcing The Times data. The employee says she showed her IDTM card, her ID and a letter from Fina to reinforce who she was.

But Sun Yang's witnesses say that was not enough. Both Dr. Ba Zhen and Dr. Han Zhaoqi, who did not testify at the scene what happened, as well as the Chinese Swimming Team Team leader Cheng Hao firmly claim that the IDTM employee's credentials were "insufficient".

Words against words. Fina's doping panel eventually chooses to warn, but does not turn off Sun Yang.

But Wada decides to go further. The case is forwarded to Cas, the sports arbitration court where Wada pleads for up to eight years of suspension. Something that will come true on Friday, February 28, 2020: The Chinese swimming star gets eight years of suspension for doping violations, the Sports Arbitration Court announces Cas.

The 27-year-old is big in China. In addition to the medal harvest at the 2019 World Cup, Sun took gold at 400 and 1500 meters freely in London 2012 and at 200 meters freely at the Rio 2016 Olympics. According to Chinese media, there has been great domestic support for Sun. The Chinese Swimming Association has openly shown its support and his lawyers have gone against the Times and threatened to sue the newspaper, unclear on what grounds.

Many swimmers in the western world have already announced their verdict against Sun Yang. Now his fate has also been settled in Cas.

SVT Sport has been in contact with IDTM in Stockholm, which refers to Wada and does not want to comment on a case that is under investigation.