Sun Yang (Chinese: 孙杨; pinyin: Sūn Yáng; Mandarin pronunciation: ; born 1 December 1991) is a Chinese Olympic and world-record-holding competitive swimmer. In 2012, he became the first Chinese man to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming. Sun is the first male swimmer in history to earn Olympic and World Championship gold medals at every freestyle distance from 200 metres to 1500 metres. A three-time Olympic gold medalist and ten-time world champion, he is also the most decorated Chinese swimmer in history. NBC Sports described Sun as "very arguably the greatest freestyle swimmer of all time."
Sun competed for China at the 2008 Summer Olympics. At the 2010 Asian Games, he won the 1500 metre freestyle, setting an Asian record; he was subsequently named Rookie of the Year at the 2010 CCTV Sports Awards. At the 2011 World Championships, Sun broke the world record in the 1500 metre freestyle previously held by Grant Hackett in 2001, which had been the longest-held world record in swimming and the only men's swimming world record to not have been beaten during the techsuit era. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sun won gold medals in the 400 and 1500 metre freestyle. At the 2013 World Championships, he became the second swimmer, after Hackett, to win gold medals in all three long distance freestyle events (400, 800, and 1500 metre) in a single World Championships. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Sun won a gold medal in the 200 metre freestyle and a silver medal in the 400 metre freestyle. By winning the 200 metre freestyle, Sun became the first swimmer in history to win Olympic gold medals in the 200, 400, and 1500 metre freestyle events. At the 2017 World Championships, he won his first world title in the 200 metre freestyle, and his third consecutive title in the 400 metre freestyle, the second swimmer to do so after Ian Thorpe in 2003.