The career of China’s most celebrated athlete looked to be over Friday after he was hit with an eight year ban for a drug-testing violation. Sun Yang, 28, is a three-time Olympic swimming champion and was the first Chinese man to ever win a swimming gold at the Games. But his successes over recent years have been overshadowed by a battle with the World Anti-Doping Agency over allegations that he avoided a drug test. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on Friday that he’ll be suspended from competition for eight years for the violation—a move that, given his age, is almost certain to bring an abrupt end to his career. Swimming’s international governing body previously declined to penalize him for refusing to cooperate with antidoping officials. In September 2018, Sun argued with testers who had traveled to his home to collect samples, and his mom told a security guard to smash his blood-samples vials with a hammer. The arbitration panel unanimously found that Sun had violated rules.
