The three-time Olympic gold medallist returned from a 51-month drugs ban to win a 400m freestyle final in China.

Disgraced three-time Olympic swimming champion Sun Yang has won his first title in the pool after coming back from a four-year doping ban.

The Chinese freestyler was originally suspended for eight years by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 2020 for smashing vials of blood during a 2018 test, the circumstances of which he still disputes.

The ban was reduced on appeal to four years and three months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2021. It expired in May, too late for him to join the Chinese team at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The swimmer instead earned his first post-ban gold medal on Sunday at the second-level Chinese National Summer Swimming Championships.

Sun won the men’s 400m freestyle, pulling ahead of his rivals after the first 200 metres to win in 3 minutes 49.58 seconds, considerably slower than his personal best, an Olympic record 3:40.14 set at the London 2012 Olympics.

Sun eyes next Olympics

Sun told Chinese state media outlet Xinhua he could have done better. “I do feel rusty in controlling the tempo, and I need more competitions,” Sun said.

He wrote in a post on the X-like Weibo social platform on Sunday that his past victories and failures had all “taught [him] how to face life’s many difficulties and challenges.”

Sun’s comeback comes after Chinese swimmers faced intense scrutiny over doping allegations at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

The two-metre tall (6 feet, 7 inches) Sun was the first Chinese swimmer to win Olympic gold, in 400m and 1500m at the 2012 London Games, but has long been a controversial figure in the pool.

Some rivals called him a cheat at the 2016 Rio Olympics and two competitors refused to stand with him on medal podiums at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships.

Sun was also given a three-month ban in 2014 after testing positive for a banned substance.

At 32, Sun has said he will “go all out” to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

He currently holds three gold medals, two silvers and a bronze from the London and Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.