Sun Yang: A flying fish in China

By Luo Jialin

Sun Yang[Photo/JIN Magazine]

Sun Yang is captain of the Chinese swimming team. He is the world-record holder of the men's 1500m freestyle and Olympic record holder of the men's 400m freestyle. Sun Yang dominated the championship of the men's 400m and 1500m freestyle in the London Olympics in 2012. Undeniably, Sun Yang is a legend in Chinese athletics. He was the first Chinese swimmer in the Olympics to win gold medals in the men's 200m, 400m and 1500m freestyle competitions.

Presently, Sun Yang is the best Olympic champion in China men's swimming. At the age of 21, he became the first Chinese man to win two Olympic swimming titles. The Chinese swimming team has won 12 gold medals in World Tournaments so far, with ten of the gold medals won by Sun Yang.

Sun Yang was born in Hangzhou city, Zhejiang province in 1991. His name connects his father's family name 'sun' with his mother's family name 'yang'. His father was a volleyball team athlete and his mother was a main force for the Zhejiang female volleyball team. Thanks to his family's history with sports, Sun Yang had quite an athletic upbringing. Standing at two meters, Sun Yang inherited physical traits from his mother and father well.

Sun Yang's great success comes from consistent effort and hard work. Sun Yang swims 15000m-20000m every day. Since he has formally joined the Chinese swimming team, Sun Yang has trained enough to swim completely around the earth. This persistent man needs to be in the water with chlorine, so it may not be entirely healthy and due to large amounts of training, his shoulder aches more frequently. Although Sun Yang needs to overcome a lot of difficulties, withstand a lot of pressure and regularly feels exhausted, he still works hard and never gives up.

When Sun Yang was asked the definition of great by media, he told the public "Only put in effort to make progress and succeed. Like Michael Phelps, who won 21 Olympic medals, I probably cannot achieve such a tremendous glory like he has, but I will still try my best and pursue better achievement." In China, we firmly believe that Sun Yang will achieve his goals. Sun Yang, a flying fish in China, is the pride of Chinese swimming team.