worn out his talent, Sun has to make a decision of whether to keep Zhang as his head coach.

    “I need time to think about it,” Sun said. “Hopefully we ( including Zhu and Zhang) can make a deal after this year’s National Games.”

    Sun Yang won his third gold medal at the 15th World Swimming Championships on Sunday when he swam to triumph in the 1,500m freestyle.

    The 21-year-old was involved in a thrilling head-to-head with Canada’s Ryan Cochrane, with the pair separated by around a 10th of a second for almost all of the race, before Sun’s powerful finish was once again decisive.

    With his big successes at this year’s World Swimming Championships, Sun has been given the title of distance freestyle king.

    “It was not easy for me to win the gold medal,” he said. “I felt extremely uncomfortable when I just finished the 1,000 meters, I thought my body was about to explode.

    “But I told myself not to give up. I did not want to disappoint people who support me, so I tried my best (to win).”

    Sun’s dispute with his former coach Zhu Zhigen earlier this year had sparked concern about Sun’s training and future. With this recent achievement, people start to connect Sun’s success with his current coach Zhang Yadong.

    Zhu has previously warned that Sun had worn out his talent and expressed his willingness to come back to help. Now Sun has to make a decision of whether to keep Zhang as his head coach.

    “I need time to think about it,” Sun said. “Hopefully we (including Zhu and Zhang) can make a deal after this year’s National Games.”

    (SD-Agencies)