China’s swimming authorities have imposed a new ban on the doctor of national hero Sun Yang for helping the double Olympic champion when he was suspended, the world body announced Friday.
Despite being under a ban, Ba Zhen assisted the world 1,500m record holder at the Asian Games in September where the Chinese athlete won three gold medals, it has now been revealed.
The Chinese Swimming Association has ordered that Ba’s one year suspension from swimming, which should have ended on May 16, now go on to September 27, FINA said in a statement.
The case has already raised controversy because of the way the suspension of Sun for a doping offence was handled, allowing him to compete at the Asian Games.
Sun failed a test at China’s national championships in May last year and was banned for three months in July. But the punishment was backdated to the time of the championships, meaning that Sun could compete at the Asiad in South Korea.
The International Swimming Federation (FINA) said that the Chinese national body had “decided to recount the suspension period” for Ba who was initially banned from May 17, 2014 to May 16 this year.
FINA said Ba had violated doping rules “by travelling on a private basis to the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon (KOR) and by helping to rehabilitate his athlete during that competition.
“This was done without the previous knowledge or consent from the Chinese national swimming team officials. Therefore, Dr. Ba Zhen is sanctioned with a new suspension period, this time from September 28, 2014 to September 27, 2015,” said the statement.
Sun, 23, has insisted that his positive test for the stimulant trimetazidine was accidental and that he had taken it to counter heart palpitations.
Trimetazidine was banned in competition, but from January 1 has been downgraded and is effectively no longer considered a banned stimulant.