A proposed documentary on banned Chinese swimming champion Sun Yang, set to start production in 2021, is already facing a backlash online as netizens expressed doubts about whether the film should be produced at all.
The official Sina Weibo account for state broadcaster CCTV Film Channel’s flagship program Chinese Movie News first reported the news last week, saying the biopic is one among more than 3,000 projects seeking funding at an online movie market Marche du Film. The post was later deleted.
Sun, 28, who is serving an eight-year ban after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld a World Anti-Doping Agency appeal in February, has appealed to the Swiss Federal Court.
But Sun’s appeal is unlikely to change his fate as judicial recourse is only allowed on a limited number of grounds, such as a lack of jurisdiction and violation of elementary procedural rules.
While no details about the film have been disclosed, including the cast, reports say the biopic will cover Sun’s career highs and lows along with the “disturbances” he has experienced in recent years.
Many netizens criticized the film as being “unnecessary,” arguing that there are plenty of Chinese athletes who have a better record than Sun but do not have a documentary about them.
Sun, hailed as a swimming prodigy after winning gold and setting a new world record in the 1,500 meters freestyle at the 2012 London Olympic Games, has often made headlines outside of competitions, including driving without a license in 2013 and splitting with his long-time coach Zhu Zhigen in 2014.
On September 4, 2018, anti-doping officers were to collect samples from him for testing. However, Sun accused the testers of not having the proper credentials and then, according to reports, proceeded to use a hammer to destroy his blood samples.
FINA, the world swimming governing body, cleared Sun of wrongdoing, but the World Anti-Doping Agency took the case to the CAS.
After the CAS ruling in February, Sun posted several video clips on Sina Weibo claiming that the testers involved in the 2018 testing incident that got him banned lacked proper credentials.
Many netizens posted that Sun should be presenting his evidence in court rather than turning to social media. The posts were later deleted and Sun has not updated his Weibo account since March 2.
Sun, who was also the Chinese national swimming team captain, was also summoned to the national team’s training session from April to June, until the Chinese Swimming Association invalided the training notice on April 23.
From athletics to yachting, China does harbor multiple world-level athletes whose careers have not been documented in a film.
But from a marketing perspective, a movie about the controversies surrounding Sun would probably be a hit as it would contain plenty of twists, including the swimmer’s trolling behavior against Australian rival Mark Horton.
Sun has not been completely ostracized from the sport. Since the CAS ruling noted that he had not tested positive before or after the September 2018 test, all his achievements have remained intact. Meanwhile, Sun’s swimming techniques are still studied by many younger athletes.
However, the irrevocable taint on Sun’s glittering career might be the deciding factor on whether a documentary of him will be produced, as the public has yet to embrace a sports figure who has been involved in dubious activities.
Sun might need to find a better way to illustrate what had happened on the day that later became one of the most controversial incidents in the swimming world, or the world will only remember it as the hammer-smashing incident.
Sun Yang at 2017 Chinese National Games Photo: VCG
