Male swimmer Sun Yang was born on December 1, 1991 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. He joined Zhejiang provincial swimming team in 2003 and the national swimming team in 2006.

He won the bronze medal in men’s 1500m freestyle at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome.

In 2010, he won championships in men’s 4×200m freestyle relay and men’s 1500m freestyle, and runners-up in men’s 200m and 400m freestyle at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.