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Chao News Client Reporter Gao Huasheng Ni Yanqiang Video Editor Wang Pingqin

On the evening of August 25, Sun Yang won the men's 400m freestyle final of the 2024 National Summer Swimming Championships at the Hefei Sports Center Swimming Pool with a time of 3 minutes 49.58 seconds. This was the first time that Sun Yang had stepped onto the highest podium of the competition after a lapse of four years. After returning to the arena after a lapse of 1,680 days, he started his career again with a gold medal.

In the mixed interview after the game, he suppressed his emotions and held back his tears, telling everyone about his future plans and intentions. When he arrived backstage and saw his wife Zhang Doudou waiting for him with flowers in her hands, he sat on a bench in the aisle and burst into tears, the emotions accumulated over four years of hard times bursting out at this moment.

After the game, he said on social media that his comeback in Hefei, Anhui was a unique encounter with his hometown, and also his first game after his return. In the future, I will move forward with this passion, create more glory in the arena of life, and live up to the witness and expectations of my hometown. He sincerely thanked his parents, lover, teachers, friends and those who accompanied him silently along the way. He also said that every road he had walked, those victories, failures and setbacks, taught him how to face the many difficulties and challenges in life, and how to make himself stronger and more confident.

Photo by Ni Yanqiang

Compared with the Olympic record of 3 minutes 40.14 seconds set at the London Olympics 12 years ago, the winning time of 3 minutes 49.58 seconds that night was still 9 seconds behind. But in Sun Yang's view, this gold medal still has extremely important meaning to him.

"Whether I win or lose, I want to give it a try," he said. "I think every failure means the dawn of success or victory will appear. I don't want to talk about the past anymore, because I have climbed out of the darkness. In the future, I hope to set an example for the children born in the 2000s and 2010s, and hope they can contribute more to Chinese men's swimming, because we will all leave the swimming pool one day."

Photo by Ni Yanqiang

Many people are concerned about his future plans and arrangements. Sun Yang told everyone that the 400 meters is not the only event he will try, and he will try more next time. During the four years of suspension, he has been training and treating injuries at his own expense. He has not rested for a single day in four years, and only rested for two days during the Chinese New Year this year. Now that he has won the gold medal, he plans to spend time with his family first.

Just like Sun Yang's refusal to give up swimming, the fans' love for him has also withstood the test of four years. After the competition ended that day, nearly 300 fans waited at the athlete exit in Hefei at night with a temperature of more than 30 degrees to encourage and cheer for him.

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