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Is Sun Yang really one of ‘world’s most hated athletes’?
- Spanish newspaper Marca includes China’s star swimmer alongside Nick Kyrgios, Neymar Jnr, Diego Costa and Floyd Mayweather Jnr
- China’s star swimmer, who is waiting on a new CAS hearing ahead of Tokyo 2020, has long been a controversial figure
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Why you can trust SCMP
Chinese swimming star Sun Yang is one of the 14 most hated athletes in world sport according to Spanish sports newspaper Marca, who have included the three-time Olympic champion in their list of the “World’s Most Hated Athletes”.
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Sun, an 11-time world champion, has long proved to be a controversial figure in the sport with several spats with his fellow swimmers, notably Mack Horton of Australia.
Their dispute dates back to the Rio 2016 Olympics, which came after Sun had served a drugs ban in secret in China in 2014. It reached a peak at the 2019 World Championships in South Korea, where Horton refused to share a podium with Sun.
The Chinese swimmer was allowed to compete at the meet as he was awaiting his public CAS hearing later that year, which fuelled criticism.
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Chinese swimmer Sun Yang gets 8-year ban for doping offences
Chinese swimmer Sun Yang gets 8-year ban for doping offences
The 29-year-old is currently waiting on a hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport after he won his appeal with the Swiss Supreme Court to overturn the eight-year ban that had effectively ended his career. That decision was made based on the anti-Chinese tweets of the president of the panel.
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