In fact, Sun Yang also once wavered in his swimming career. He recalled, “I once doubted whether I could keep going. It was probably between 2005 and 2007. I was still young at that time, and whenever the coach was strict or criticized me, I would feel scared and upset, thinking I had already tried my best but still could not gain recognition.”
During that period, he even felt unable to continue, believing that the gap between himself and the world’s best results was too large and that there was little hope of catching up. He felt lost and did not know what direction to take in the future. Fortunately, things later changed. He said, “At the Beijing Olympics, I finished eighth in the 1500-meter freestyle, and I won a bronze medal at the World Championships. These results boosted my confidence. I began to think that if I could win a bronze medal, maybe I also had a chance to win gold. With this thought, my motivation in training increased greatly, and I have never considered giving up since then.”
Sometimes, if a person does not persist, they may lose the chance of success. When Sun Yang was young, his parents only sent him to swimming classes as a summer activity. His father recalled, “At the beginning, he could not swim at all. He was taken to a 1.8-meter-deep pool. Because of the buoyancy, he could not stand steadily. He could only hold a kickboard and practice kicking while crying loudly. It was really hard for us to watch.”
His fear of deep water made young Sun Yang cry whenever he heard he had to go to the pool. Seeing how afraid he was, his parents once considered giving up. However, he gradually developed a love for swimming. No matter how hard the training was, he persisted and often even exceeded the coach’s required workload.
