Chinese three-time Olympic swimming champion Sun Yang (2nd L) listens during a public hearing in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Montreux, Switzerland, on Nov. 15, 2019. (Photo by Alain Grosclaude/Xinhua)
It would be "a great shame" if Chinese swimmer Sun Yang is not treated justly, says Australian senior reporter.
CANBERRA, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- It would be a great shame if there is a miscarriage of justice for Chinese swimmer Sun Yang, said Tracey Holmes, a senior Australian sports reporter.
"You don't want to see a miscarriage of justice for anybody," she said in a recent interview with Xinhua. "But for somebody of Sun Yang's caliber to have his reputation completely ruined, if it's not justified, you never wanna see that happen."
Holmes, a presenter with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation who had worked as Media Information Manager with the Sydney Organizing Committee for the 2000 Olympic Games, saw the Chinese swimmer competing at a number of events, including the Olympics and world championships.
Sun Yang of China poses with his gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug. 8, 2016. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)
"He's a phenomenal swimmer," she said. "One of the best. I would say probably the best swimmer of all time."
Sun Yang, 29, won gold in the 200m freestyle at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, as well as the 400m and 1,500m freestyle at the 2012 Olympics in London. He claimed 200m and 400m freestyle titles at the 2019 FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea.
Sun refused to complete a doping test conducted by the international testing company IDTM on September 4, 2018, after discovering that the doping control officer and her assistants lacked sufficient authorization and credentials. The three testers signed an agreement with Sun on the morning of September 5 stating that the test was "incomplete" and that they would not take away the swimmer's samples.
Matthieu Reeb, secretary-general of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), announces the court's ruling in Lausanne, Switzerland, Feb. 28, 2020. (Xinhua/Chen Junxia)
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) found him guilty last February, of refusing to cooperate with sample collectors and handed him an eight-year ban. Sun then turned to the Swiss Federal Tribunal (SFT), his last court of appeal, which overturned the ruling in December.
Holmes said that decision of the SFT was "monumental" in two aspects.
First, she said, very few people have succeeded in overturning a previous ruling at the SFT.
"Then the second aspect is that the message sent to the CAS should really be seen as a wake-up call for them," said Holmes.
"If you're going to be a sports court for the world and you wanna be fair for the world, you need to guarantee that the people hearing those cases are above reproach."
Then CAS panel chair Franco Frattini had been found making racist comments about China on social media, an act that Holmes said was not "in keeping with the idea that any athlete that goes to the CAS should be able to get a fair hearing."
She also questioned the language used in the hearing.
"Nobody in Australia would even think that they should accept a situation where perhaps an Australian was going to be heard in the CAS and none of the three panelists spoke or understand English," she argued.
Holmes agreed that there are double standards when Sun was judged.
"We know that there are geopolitical aspects, we know that there are certain countries and certain people that don't like to be beaten by other countries and other people," she said.
Sun Yang (C) arrives at a public hearing in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Montreux, Switzerland, on Nov. 15, 2019. (Photo by Alain Grosclaude/Xinhua)
While Sun was denounced as a "drug cheat" by some people, the senior reporter wrote several articles. She said the Chinese swimmer, until his ban, was "the most tested athlete on the planet".
"He had a reasonable basis on which to question how it was being done on the night," she said. "I think the unfortunate thing is that the rules have been very black-and-white."
She said it was not known how the decision of SFT would ultimately change Sun's career. "That very much depends on the verdict and how quickly they can hear this case," she said.
"If the verdict is the same, clearly his career is finished," she added.
"But if there is a different verdict, and when this is heard again, if they hear it quickly enough, the prospects are that Sun Yang can be swimming in Tokyo, if he's fit enough and he qualifies and the Tokyo Olympics goes ahead."
