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 Shun, Xu Jiayu, Yan Zibei, Wang Jianjiahe and Ye Shiwen.
Here are the full list of athletes attending the FINA Champions Swim Series:
Men:
- Michael Andrew, USA, 50 free, 50 back, 50, 100 fly, 200 IM
- Dmitriy Balandin, KAZ, 100, 200 breast
- Marcelo Chierighini, BRA, 100 free
- Apostolos Christou, GRE, 50 back
- Anthony Ervin, USA, 50 free
- Kristian Gkolomeev, GRE, 50 free
- Robert Glinta, ROU, 50 back
- Joao Gomes, BRA, 50 breast
- Andriy Govorov, UKR, 50 fly
- Matt Grevers, USA, 100 back
- Zach Harting, USA, 200 fly
- Ji Xinjie, CHN, 400 free
- Arno Kamminga, NED, 50, 100, 200 breast
- Radoslaw Kawecki, POL, 200 back
- Tamas Kenderesi, HUN, 200 fly
- Denys Kesyl, UKR, 200 fly
- Marco Koch, GER, 200 breast
- Oleg Kostin, RUS, 50, 100 fly
- Dominik Kozma, HUN, 200, 400 free
- Andrei Minakov, RUS, 100 free, 100 fly
- Vladimir Morozov, RUS, 50, 100 free
- Jacob Pebley, USA, 100, 200 back, 200 IM
- Josh Prenot, USA, 200 breast, 200 IM
- Danas Rapsys, LTU, 200, 400 free
- Masato Sakai, JPN, 200 fly
- Nicholas Santos, BRA, 50 fly
- Fabio Scozzoli, ITA, 50 breast
- Ilya Shymanovich, BLR, 50, 100 breast
- Sun Yang, CHN, 200, 400 free
- Adam Telegdy, HUN, 200 back
- Matthew Temple, AUS, 100 fly
- Markus Thormeyer, CAN, 200 free, 100, 200 back
- Pieter Timmers, BEL, 100 free
- Wang Shun, CHN, 200 IM
- Xu Jiayu, CHN, 50, 100 back
- Yan Zibei, CHN, 100 breast
Women:
- Alia Atkinson, JAM, 50, 100 breast
- Martina Carraro, ITA, 50, 100, 200 breast
- Svetlana Chimrova, RUS, 200 fly
- Michelle Coleman, SWE, 50, 100 free, 50, 100 back, 50 fly
- Elena Di Liddo, ITA, 50, 100 fly
- Anna Egorova, RUS, 400 free
- Fu Yuanhui, CHN, 100 back
- Molly Hannis, USA, 50 breast
- Siobhan Haughey, HKG, 100, 200 free
- Femke Heemskerk, NED, 50, 100, 200 free
- Katinka Hosszu, HUN, 200 free, 100, 200 back, 100, 200 fly, 200 IM
- Ida Hulkko, FIN, 50 breast
- Boglarka Kapas, HUN, 400 free, 200 fly
- Ajna Kesely, HUN, 400 free
- Ranomi Kromowidjojo, NED, 50, 100 free, 50, 100 fly
- Liu Xiang, CHN, 50 free, 50 back
- Liu Yaxin, CHN, 200 back
- Jeanette Ottesen, DEN, 50, 100 fly
- Sydney Pickrem, CAN, 200 back, 100, 200 breast, 200 IM
- Caroline Pilhatsch, AUT, 50 back
- Liliana Szilagyi, HUN, 200 fly
- Kira Toussaint, NED, 50, 100, 200 back
- Wang Jianjiahe, CHN, 400 free
- Yang Junxuan, CHN, 200 free
- Ye Shiwen, CHN, 200 breast, 200 IM
- Yu Jingyao, CHN, 100, 200 breast
- Yu Yiting, CHN, 200 IM
