FILE PHOTO: Chinese swimmer Sun Yang poses after a public hearing of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for the appeal filed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against him and the Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA), at the Conference Centre of the Fairmont Le Montreux Palace, in Montreux, Switzerland November 15, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese swimmer Sun Yang said he will “definitely” appeal the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling that handed him an eight-year ban for missing an out-of-competition test for doping, China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday.
“This is unfair. I firmly believe in my innocence,” the 28-year-old Sun was quoted as telling Xinhua. “I will definitely appeal to let more people know the truth.”
CAS accepted an appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against a decision by swimming body FINA to clear Sun of wrongdoing for his conduct during the test in September 2018. A FINA report said Sun questioned the credentials of the testers before members of his entourage smashed vials containing his blood samples with a hammer.
Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Alex Richardson
