Chinese swimmer Sun Yang’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against an eight-year ban for missing an out-of-competition doping test will take place in May with a new panel of judges.
Triple Olympic champion Sun was banned by CAS last February after it accepted an appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency against a decision by swimming governing body FINA to clear him of wrongdoing for his conduct during a 2018 test.
The swimmer appealed and the Swiss Federal Supreme Court in December upheld his challenge against the CAS panel “on the grounds of bias of one of the arbitrators of the CAS”.
As a result, the case was sent back to CAS, which said it would hear it again with a different panel.
“A new hearing will take place during the week of May 24-28, 2021,” CAS said in a statement on Thursday.
A different decision to its original findings could potentially clear the way for Sun to compete at this year’s delayed Tokyo Olympics.
The reigning world and Olympic champion in 200 metres freestyle, Sun was banned after he and members of his entourage were found to have smashed vials containing blood samples taken at an out-of-competition test in September 2018.
Sun, 29, has questioned the credentials and identity of the testers and has proclaimed his innocence.