Chinese Olympic champion swimmer banned 8 years

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirmed Friday that Olympic swimming champion Sun Yang of China was banned eight years for violating anti-doping rules.

"Sun Yang (the Athlete) is sanctioned with an eight-year period of ineligibility, starting on the date of the CAS award," said the Lausanne, Switzerland-based court on its website.

"Considering that, in June 2014, the Athlete was found guilty of a first anti-doping rule violation (ADRV), the Panel concluded that, in accordance with Article 10.7.1 FINA DC, an eight-year period of ineligibility, starting on the date of the CAS award, has to be imposed on the Athlete for this second ADRV," it added.

CAS said the three-time Olympic champion was found guilty of voluntarily refusing to submit to a sample collection in violation of the terms of the World Anti-Doping Code.

Sun refused to complete a doping test in September 2018 but the sport's world governing body, FINA, decided in January 2019 that Yang did not violate anti-doping regulations.

The World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA, however, appealed the case to CAS, claiming Sun voluntarily rejected to completing a doping test and requested a ban between two years to the maximum of eight years.

Sun bagged two gold medals in the London Olympics in 2012 and another in the 2016 Gams Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.