Off the wire
• Further talks for Turkey's EU accession not likely: Austrian official  • Kenyan court frees Olympic athletics manager accused of doping on bail  • Urgent: Security Council to hold next round of straw poll on UN chief selection on Aug. 29  • Official candidate decides not to run for Latvia's tax chief amid lack of support  • U.S. dollar declines against most major currencies  • Kenya to increase health funding amid rising disease burden  • Diving pool remains green as training canceled in the morning  • Schedule of Rio Olympics finals on Saturday, August 13  • East Africa's training scheme for cancer specialists launched in Kenya  • Defending champion Sun Yang fails to qualify for Olympic men's 1,500m freestyle final  
You are here: 　 Home

Sun Yang fails to make 1,500m freestyle final at Rio Games

Xinhua, August 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

Defending champion Sun Yang failed to qualify for the 1,500m freestyle final after a 7th finish in his heat at Rio Olympic Games on Friday.

The 1,500m free world record holder ranked 16th overall after clocking 15 minutes 1.97 seconds.

The 24-year-old, winning the 200m free on Monday, caught a cold after winning the title but refused to skip the 1,500m heat.

"I didn't feel well after the 200m final," said Sun. "I caught a fever two days ago and I took six pills of antibiotics in a day. I didn't expect I would be this sick after the 200m."

"I felt so tired after 800m today but I think I will learn something from the race and I don't care about the time. Even if I timed 16 minutes or 17 minutes, it will be an encouragement for me as I have not competed in the event for a long time," he said.

Italy's Gregorio Paltrinieri, winner of the event at the 2015 Kazan worlds, led the heats in 14:44.51. Endit