Sun Yang (孙杨) is the 1,500-meter freestyle swimming world record holder, and he is the first male swimmer to win an Olympic gold for China.
Born on Dec. 1, 1991 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, Sun Yang's father was a basketball player and his mother was a volleyball player.
Sun was sent to train in Australia with Olympic medalist Grant Hackett's mentor, Dennis Cotterell, for two months earlier in 2011. He went on to break Hackett's 1,500-meter freestyle world record (14:34.56) with his 14:34.14 in Shanghai. Hackett's record had stood for 10 years until Sun smashed it in the 14th FINA World Championships on July 31, 2011.
Sun Yang won the gold medal of 400m freestyle at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Sun Yang was awarded the Best Male Athlete Award during the ceremony of 2012 CCTV Sports Personality of the Year in Beijing on Jan. 19, 2013.
Major achievements:
2006 National Winter Championships -- 1st 400m/1500m free
2006 National Marathon Swimming Tournament -- 1st 10 km free Sun Yang won the gold of the men's 1500-metre freestyle competition in the FINA World Championships in Barcelona on Aug. 4, 2013.
2007 National Champions Tournament – 2nd 400m/1500m free
2007 National Championships -- 1st 1500m free
2007 National Intercity Games -- 1st 1500m free
2008 "Good Luck Beijing" Swimming Olympic Qualification – 2nd 400m free
2008 Olympics — 28th 400m free, 8th 1500m free
2009 World Championships -- 3rd 1500m free
2010 Asian Games – 1st 1500m free (Asian Record)
2011 14th FINA World Championships -- 1st 1500m free (World Record), 1st 800m free, 2nd 400m free
2012 London Olympic Games -- gold medal, 400m free (Olympic record)
2013 15th FINA World Championships, Barcelona, Spain -- gold medal, 400m free, 800m free, 1,500m free; bronze, men's 4x200 relay, the best male swimmer off the competition.
On Nov. 4, 2013, Sun Yang was given seven days' detention and fined 2,000 yuan (US$328) for driving a Porsche without a licence in his hometown Hangzhou.
On Nov. 5, 2013, the Zhejiang College of Sports, with which Sun is affiliated, suspended him from competition indefinitely.
On Nov. 6, 2013, Sun Yang was expelled from the Chinese national swimming team and disqualified from international and domestic competitions.
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