After surgery on a tumour in his spine and despite recent ructions in the pool the powerhouse is fully focused on reaching Paris
Born in Australia as Yang Xu, the son of successful Chinese businessman Yang Qingquan, he returned to China with his parents at the age of four and lived in Guangzhou, where he learned to swim, before coming back to Sydney at 11 to finish school at Knox Grammar, where he became known as William Xu Yang.
Little more than a year later, he won national titles in the 50m backstroke and 50m butterfly, and then won the 50m butterfly at the 2019 World University Games in Naples, training under former Australian team swimmer Bobby Hurley. He seemed poised to make an even bigger impact last year before excruciating pain in his lower back floored him, just before the Australian trials for the world championships in Fukuoka. Medical scans revealed a benign tumour in his spinal canal, impinging on a nerve, which required immediate surgery.
Yang had few expectations when he returned to training with the NSW Institute of Sport squad under coach Adam Kable in January, but he has made an eye-catching comeback. “My perspective just changed a lot after what I went through last year, I just want to be healthy and enjoy the sport. I don’t think too much about my times or my performance. Every day I just do the best I can and I’m just happy to be here.”“It would mean a lot ,’’ he said. “That would just mean I didn’t let a surgery or any setbacks define who I am or my career. I think I’m tougher than that. I can come back from any setback. It made me tougher mentally.
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