Will this move prevent further cheating, or do we need to be more harsh on those found guilty?

Will this move prevent further cheating, or do we need to be more harsh on those found guilty?

Sun Yang of China celebrates winning the Men's 200m Freestyle final at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on day three, of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)

MAKE AN EXAMPLE OUT OF HIM

 

Mitchell Keenan

 

AFTER a two-year wild goose chase they have finally done it.

A tribunal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport has handed champion Chinese swimmer Sun Yang an eight year ban from all competitions after the World Anti Doping Agency had accused the controversial star of cheating five time including smashing a vial of his own blood to avoid testing in 2018. But is the punishment harsh enough?

For the 28-year-old athlete, it is unlikely he will ever compete at the elite level again, but what about all the medals he has won in the years that he was allegedly doping?

International Swimming Federation, FINA, has suggested stripping him of the titles won at the 2019 World Championships but I believe it should go further back than that.

If Sun was willing to destroy potential evidence of his cheating ways in 2018, what's to say he hadn't been doing it long before that.

Some may suggest punishing China as a whole like WADA has done to Russia but I don't feel that is fair to a country as big as that.

I feel the best thing to do is to strip Sun of all of his illegitimate winnings and possibly even ban him from the sport for life. I don't think athletes are getting the message that doping is not something they should be doing so let's make an example of Sun Yang and make sure these cheats take notice.

 

China's Sun Yang prepares to race in the Men's 200m Freestyle final at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on day three, of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. (AAP IMAGE/Dave Hunt)

 

 

THERE'S MORE TO YANG'S CASE

 

Jarrard Potter

 

WHILE Sun Yang has been handed an eight year ban from competitive swimming by the Court of Arbitration for Sport for tampering with a vial of blood taken by doping authorities trying to perform a random drug test, there are still questions lingering over the matter and I'm doubtful the truth will ever be revealed.

There will forever be an asterisk next to his name in the history books and medal tallies, as this verdict rightfully casts doubt over the legitimacy of previous success.

That being said, the fact is Yang has been slammed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and gives the World Anti-Doping Agency a win in their fight against cheating in world sport.

Since the tests were never able to be carried out on Yang's sample, taken in 2018, we will never know for certain that he was doping at that time.

By making an example of Yang, and handing out this massive suspension, does it also allow authorities to say case closed and walk away? What are the chances Yang's doping (if he was in fact doping) was an isolated incident? Or is there more to this, such as a state-based program of doping across Chinese athletes, such as what was conducted by the Russian government? Again, we may never know the answer.

Punish Yang for his crimes, but don't let him be the fall guy to take the heat for a bigger problem.

Originally published as Will this move prevent further cheating, or do we need to be more harsh on those found guilty?