When it comes to violating the substance rule, the International Olympic Committee has a no tolerance policy. Athletes caught violating the Olympic drug policy can have their medals stripped, be suspended, or even banned from competition.
Sun Yang is the most decorated swimmer in China with three gold medals; but all of that has come to an end with an eight year ban from competing in the next two summer Olympics beginning with the upcoming games in Tokyo. Sun will also miss the 2024 summer Olympics in Paris, France.
All Olympians are required to participate in periodic drug tests to ensure that they are not violating the anti-doping rules.
The Court of Arbitration ruled in a unanimous decision that Sun violated the rules by not cooperating with officials charged with collecting a sample in September 2018; in addition, Sun’s mother told his security to smash the sample with a hammer…which he did. Saying that the people coming to take the samples did not have the proper paperwork, Sun refused to give them a urine sample.
“It is one thing, having provided a blood sample, to question the accreditation of the testing personnel while keeping the intact samples in the possession of the testing authorities; it is quite another thing, after lengthy exchanges and warnings as to the consequences, to act in such a way that results in destroying the sample containers, thereby eliminating any chance of testing the sample at a later stage,” the panel said.
After a request from the World Anti-Doping Agency, the CAS levied the maximum penalty.
This is not the first time that Sun has been charged with a rules violation.
Sun’s first violation was in 2014 where he was banned from competing for three months by Chinese officials; however, he never missed a competition.