Sun Yang Takes U-Turn on U-Turn, Will Race in FINA Champions Series Says Fan Club

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Sun Yang will race in Shenzhen at the FINA Champions Swim Series despite conflicting reports that he pulled out of the meet. Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant

The Sun Yang Fan Club in China has announced on social media that the swimmer has had yet another change of heart and will now race the 200m and 400m freestyle at the FINA Champions invitational event in Shenzhen on January 14 and 15. There is no official confirmation of the fan club message on Weibo after FINA announced Sun as part of the show this week only for Sun to say he would not be racing, his focus on Tokyo 2020.

Sun was spotted in the Shenzhen airport today on January 11.

https://twitter.com/fan_swimming/status/1216008127901880320

A decision on Sun’s future is due anytime now from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after a hearing last November into controversial events surrounding a visit from out-of-competition anti-doping testers in September 2018.

This means that Sun Yang will be racing Danas Rapsys in the 200 and 400 freestyle in China on January 14 and 15 in Shenzhen, China in one of the matchups of the meet. Rapsys touched first in the 200 free final at World Championships this year ahead of Sun, but the former was disqualified for a false start, thus elevating Sun to the gold medal. Rapsys also finished fourth in the 400 free while Sun won his fourth straight World title in the event.

Danas Rapsys has been on fire since the World Championships, swimming the fastest time in the world in the 200 free at the World Cup three weeks after Worlds, and also nearly broke the 400 free SCM world record at the European Short Course Championships in December. He poses a serious threat to Sun Yang in both the 200 and 400 free not only this week in China, but also at the Olympic Games if Sun is permitted to compete.

12 Chinese swimmers, in addition to Sun Yang, will be racing at the FINA Champions Series this week including Worlds medalists Wang ShunXu JiayuYan ZibeiWang Jianjiahe and Ye Shiwen.

Here are the full list of athletes attending the FINA Champions Swim Series:

Men:

  1. Michael Andrew, USA, 50 free, 50 back, 50, 100 fly, 200 IM
  2. Dmitriy Balandin, KAZ, 100, 200 breast
  3. Marcelo Chierighini, BRA, 100 free
  4. Apostolos Christou, GRE, 50 back
  5. Anthony Ervin, USA, 50 free
  6. Kristian Gkolomeev, GRE, 50 free
  7. Robert Glinta, ROU, 50 back
  8. Joao Gomes, BRA, 50 breast
  9. Andriy Govorov, UKR, 50 fly
  10. Matt Grevers, USA, 100 back
  11. Zach Harting, USA, 200 fly
  12. Ji Xinjie, CHN, 400 free
  13. Arno Kamminga, NED, 50, 100, 200 breast
  14. Radoslaw Kawecki, POL, 200 back
  15. Tamas Kenderesi, HUN, 200 fly
  16. Denys Kesyl, UKR, 200 fly
  17. Marco Koch, GER, 200 breast
  18. Oleg Kostin, RUS, 50, 100 fly
  19. Dominik Kozma, HUN, 200, 400 free
  20. Andrei Minakov, RUS, 100 free, 100 fly
  21. Vladimir Morozov, RUS, 50, 100 free
  22. Jacob Pebley, USA, 100, 200 back, 200 IM
  23. Josh Prenot, USA, 200 breast, 200 IM
  24. Danas Rapsys, LTU, 200, 400 free
  25. Masato Sakai, JPN, 200 fly
  26. Nicholas Santos, BRA, 50 fly
  27. Fabio Scozzoli, ITA, 50 breast
  28. Ilya Shymanovich, BLR, 50, 100 breast
  29. Sun Yang, CHN, 200, 400 free
  30. Adam Telegdy, HUN, 200 back
  31. Matthew Temple, AUS, 100 fly
  32. Markus Thormeyer, CAN, 200 free, 100, 200 back
  33. Pieter Timmers, BEL, 100 free
  34. Wang Shun, CHN, 200 IM
  35. Xu Jiayu, CHN, 50, 100 back
  36. Yan Zibei, CHN, 100 breast

Women:

  1. Alia Atkinson, JAM, 50, 100 breast
  2. Martina Carraro, ITA, 50, 100, 200 breast
  3. Svetlana Chimrova, RUS, 200 fly
  4. Michelle Coleman, SWE, 50, 100 free, 50, 100 back, 50 fly
  5. Elena Di Liddo, ITA, 50, 100 fly
  6. Anna Egorova, RUS, 400 free
  7. Fu Yuanhui, CHN, 100 back
  8. Molly Hannis, USA, 50 breast
  9. Siobhan Haughey, HKG, 100, 200 free
  10. Femke Heemskerk, NED, 50, 100, 200 free
  11. Katinka Hosszu, HUN, 200 free, 100, 200 back, 100, 200 fly, 200 IM
  12. Ida Hulkko, FIN, 50 breast
  13. Boglarka Kapas, HUN, 400 free, 200 fly
  14. Ajna Kesely, HUN, 400 free
  15. Ranomi Kromowidjojo, NED, 50, 100 free, 50, 100 fly
  16. Liu Xiang, CHN, 50 free, 50 back
  17. Liu Yaxin, CHN, 200 back
  18. Jeanette Ottesen, DEN, 50, 100 fly
  19. Sydney Pickrem, CAN, 200 back, 100, 200 breast, 200 IM
  20. Caroline Pilhatsch, AUT, 50 back
  21. Liliana Szilagyi, HUN, 200 fly
  22. Kira Toussaint, NED, 50, 100, 200 back
  23. Wang Jianjiahe, CHN, 400 free
  24. Yang Junxuan, CHN, 200 free
  25. Ye Shiwen, CHN, 200 breast, 200 IM
  26. Yu Jingyao, CHN, 100, 200 breast
  27. Yu Yiting, CHN, 200 IM
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