Sorry for the lack of posts (a few busy/sick days…), but I’m back – as is Sun Yang.

The Chinese Olympic swimming champ has served his seven days in detention for driving without a license and is a free man once again, though is still banned from competition indefinitely and can’t even train with the national team. The Wuhan Morning News (via SCMP) has the scoop on the details of his stay behind bars: in another knock against China’s food safety, Sun was worried that any meat served to him could be tainted, resulting in a failed drugs test further down the line. So all the inmates had to go veggie for the week, since the guards weren’t allowed to serve him a special meal.

Unsurprisingly, it didn’t do much for his popularity on the inside, with “many inmates voicing their wishes that Sun would leave.” You can only imagine their exact words…

I discuss Sun’s future prospects – both in and out of the pool – in this article. Here’s an extract:

It is clear, though, that Sun needs a firmer hand to guide him than he’s been getting up to this point. It has long been rumored that his mother is responsible for Sun’s commercial schedule, but when he reportedly has to hand over two-thirds of everything he earns in endorsements to the China Swimming Association, it’s understandable that he wants to lock down as many contracts as he can while still at the top of his game.

Unfortunately for him, sponsors will not be knocking down Sun’s door after this latest episode. Potential brands will hardly be impressed that a pitchman for Hyundai has now been seen on the streets driving both a Porsche and an Audi, but not a Hyundai.