Doping: Sun Yang's suspension canceled, towards a new examination

The Lausanne Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned Chinese Olympic champion Sun Yang's eight-year suspension for anti-doping rule violation on Thursday.

The case is not over, however, since Swiss justice is expected to rule again on his case, in another doping case. 

Three-time Chinese Olympic swimming champion Sun Yang claimed victory seven months from the Tokyo Games, securing Swiss civil courts overturning his eight-year suspension for anti-doping rule violation.

The Chinese athlete is not out of the woods: after announcing his suspension on February 28 for the destruction with hammer blows of a sample during an unexpected doping control in September 2018, the Lausanne Court of Arbitration for Sport will rule again.

the highest legal body in the Alpine country, which pointed out the partiality of a judge, did not focus on the merits of the case.

The defense of the Chinese swimmer had notably highlighted anti-Chinese racist tweets from the president of the panel of judges, the Italian Franco Frattini.

This suspension was one of the most spectacular decisions of CAS, due to its severity and the stature of the swimmer, superstar in his country.

He became the first Chinese Olympic swimming champion in London.

This appeal to Sun Yang's civil justice against an "unfair" decision was his last resort.

"The decision of the Swiss Federal Tribunal stems from a dispute against the president of the CAS panel and does not include any comment on the merits of the case," reacted in a statement the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) , "ready to resubmit her case in a robust way before a different CAS panel in due course".

Already suspended for three months in 2014

Crowned at the Games in London in 2012 (400 m and 1,500 m) and Rio in 2016 (200 m), the imposing Chinese (1.98 m) also has eleven world championship titles to his list.

In February, the CAS had not canceled its titles won after the incredible control, in particular the gold medals of the 200 and 400 m freestyle at the world championships in Gwangju (South Korea) in July 2019, in particular because it had not been tested positive for doping.

The 29-year-old Chinese swimmer had already been suspended for three months in 2014 for testing positive for a stimulant (trimetazidine).

In the greatest secrecy, since it had only been made public once his sanction had been largely served.

His lawyer Zhang Qihuai, who confirmed Thursday to AFP that he had been notified of the Swiss court's decision without having had it, had said his client's intention to take legal action against an inspector who he said had provided "false evidence" in a statement.

He also accused WADA of having "falsified the facts and abused his power".

"February 28, 2020 was a dark day," said Zhang Qihuai.

"It shows the scene of evil which defeats justice and of power which replaces the obvious truth," he added.

"On that day, CAS turned a blind eye to the rules and procedures, turned a blind eye to the facts and the evidence, and accepted all lies and false evidence."

At the hearing, the swimmer argued that the controllers had not produced "documents proving their identity".

What had not been retained by the CAS.

"Cheaters have no place in sport"

For the Tribunal, a true "supreme court of sport", the athlete had "not established that he had a valid explanation for destroying his sample" and "it was not (him) to decide alone that a doping control should be invalidated and a sample destroyed. "

Sun's suspension was praised by many athletes.

Australian Mark Horton refused to shake his hand and step onto the podium in the 400 freestyle in Gwangju (South Korea).

The Briton Duncan Scott, in bronze over 200 m, had also refused to shake hands with the native of Hangzhou, near Shanghai.

“Well done CAS! Good decision, tweeted in February the South African Chad Le Clos, Olympic vice-champion in the 200m in 2016, behind Sun. Like many other clean swimmers, I ran against Sun Yang and lost . Cheaters have no place in sport. "

David Sharpe, who heads the Australian Anti-Doping Agency, for his part said that CAS arbitration restored "confidence in the anti-doping system".

The destroyed sample case landed before the CAS after WADA appealed against previous controversial findings by the International Swimming Federation (Fina), which cleared Sun Yang for a formal defect.