Chinese Olympic champion swimmer Sun Yang can no longer train in Australia with coach Denis Cotterell after it was revealed last week that he failed a drug test in May and served a three-month doping ban.
Swimming Australia deemed Sun could not train Down Under anymore, according to Australian media. Swimming Australia also instituted a policy that foreign swimmers who wish to train in Australia must register with the nation’s anti-doping agency for out-of-competition testing, according to the report.
Sun, 22, won four medals at the London 2012 Olympics, including gold in the 400m and 1500m freestyles, while training under the Australian Cotterell. He swept the 400m, 800m and 1500m frees at the 2013 World Championships, where he was named the male swimmer of the meet by swimming’s international governing body.
On Nov. 24, Chinese officials said Sun tested positive for the banned stimulant trimetazidine on May 17 during the Chinese National Championships.
Sun said he used the prescription drug Vasorel for a heart condition he’s had since 2008, according to Xinhua News Agency. He said he was unaware that trimetazidine, a substance in the prescription drug, was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)’s prohibited list this year.
He could have been allowed to legally use the substance had he filed a therapeutic use exemption with doping officials, since it was for a medical condition.
Sun was given a reduced three-month ban by China’s anti-doping agency because he “proved with sufficient evidence that he did not intend to cheat,” Zhao Jia, deputy director of China’s doping agency, said, according to Xinhua News Agency.
WADA could appeal for a longer ban for Sun.
FINA names Katinka Hosszu over Katie Ledecky for Swimmer of the Year
