The China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) has confirmed that Sun Yang, a Chinese multi-Olympic and world swimming champion, has bee banned from competitive swimming after he failed a doping test.

Sun tested positive for stimulant trimetazidine on 17 May during the national championships, CHINADA told the official Xinhua News Agency on Monday. Trimetazidine increases coronary flow reserve.

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The Chinese star swimmer admitted using the prescription drug Vasorel for medical reasons but stressed that he did not know that a substance in the drug was included in the prohibited list.

"I have been tested numerous times during years of training and competition and I had never failed one before," said Sun on Monday.

"I was shocked and depressed at that time, but at the same time it made me cherish my sporting life even more. I will take it as a lesson and be more careful in the future."

Aside from the three month-ban, Sun was also ordered to pay the fine of Rmb5,000 (US$816) and was stripped of his national 1,500m freestyle title, Xinhua reported.

According to the Chinese Swimming Association, Sun would have been meted a higher penalty but the association trimmed the ban to three months after the swimmer proved with sufficient evidence that he did not intend to cheat.

However, his failure to inform the doping control official prior to the tournament was deemed a violation and called for a punishment.

CHINADA Deputy Director Zhao Jia said Sun is the most famous athlete in China and is known in the world, which means the agency needed to handle his case very cautiously.

"This is huge bad news but we will not cover it up," said Zhao.

The Zhejiang Swimming Association said the provincial association and some related officials were also punished by the Chinese Swimming Association.

Along with Sun Yang, CHINADA also announced six other positive cases in its quarterly report on its official website.

TagsSun Yang, Olympic Swimmer, Chinese Athlete