China’s swimming superstar Sun Yang is reportedly full of confidence having just come off a grueling one-month training bout in Gold Coast, Australia. Putting in upwards of 5 hours a day fine-tuning his freestyle craft, the soon-to-be 26-year-old Olympian is gunning for more gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the competition which marks the debut of the new men’s 800m freestyle event.
Speaking at the FINA Aquatics Gala last Saturday in Sanya, China, Sun stated, “I believe all the little small adjustments could help me push my performance to a much higher level. I have thrown myself into a tough training regime in Australia, like I have done every year. I enjoy it because hard work makes me satisfied.” (China.org)
Of setting the 800m freestyle in his sights specifically, Sun commented, “That’s a huge motivation. It will be of great significance if I can win the 800m on its Olympic debut in Tokyo.” (China.org)
The man who earned FINA honors for his ‘Outstanding Contribution to Swimming Popularity in China’ at the Gala in Sanya says he is going to try to compete through the year 2022, ‘if his body allows.’
“My biggest birthday wish is to keep the country among the world’s top contenders in the pool as long as I can.” He added, “More than winning medals, it makes me even happier now knowing that I have the power to inspire some kids to start swimming.”
A multiple Olympic champion, Sun scored 200m and 400m free gold at the 2017 World Championship in Budapest, setting a new Asian record in the 200m. The star topped the list as China’s Most Influential Athlete for the 4th consecutive year and landed on the Forbes China Celebrity List for 2017, representing the only athlete to make the exclusive line-up.
I want to like him so badly but I just can’t because of his past doping sanctions…
Doping sanction not sanctions. It was only one.
Not happening. I just want to see him behave himself in the warm-down pool and not have an outlandish false start like he did in the 1500 in 2012
Didn’t we win in 2012?