Uncertainty surrounds Sun as pool events loom
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, July 25, 2013
A row involving China's swimming superstar Sun Yang and an air hostess has given the Chinese a turbulent run-up to the world championships in Barcelona.
The swimming section of the World Swimming Championships starts on Sunday with Sun spearheading China's bid to dethrone the USA's swimming supremacy at the top of the medals table.
Sun, 21, led his country to its best-ever Olympic performance in London last year, snaring two gold medals and smashing his own 1500m freestyle world record as China finished with five titles.
Along with teen phenom Ye Shiwen, beset by doping innuendo as she claimed two individual medley golds, China cemented its new position as the world's number two team behind America.
But a falling-out between Sun and his coach over his love affair with a stewardess has rocked preparations for Barcelona.
Sun, the distance specialist from Zhejiang, rejected coach Zhu Zhigen's demand that he stop seeing his girlfriend and concentrate on his swimming instead.
Despite a public show of reconciliation with Zhu, Sun has been training in Hong Kong under former Chinese head coach Zhang Yadong, and it is unclear which events he will contest this month.
"Athletes want to get good results, and to do this you need systematic and scientific training without outside interference," Sun said on his microblog.
Chinese officials have down played Sun's chances in Barcelona.
"We are concerned that he is not able to perform well as he has lacked systematic training the past six months," Chinese swimming's deputy head Shang Xiutang told domestic media.
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