Olympic champion caught driving without license

Zhejiang College of Sports has confirmed that Olympic swimming champion Sun Yang, 22, was caught driving without a license, the news website cztv.com reported.

The white Porsche Cayenne he was driving scratched a bus at an intersection in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Sunday. Hangzhou traffic radio reported on its official Sina Weibo account that the accident happened at around 2:10 pm at the crossroads of Yan'an Lu and Tiyuchang Lu in Hangzhou.

According to the Zhejiang-based Youth Times, Zhang Yadong, vice president of Zhejiang College of Sports visited the Xiacheng police station, and left around 10 pm.

Zhang said that Sun has returned home, and refused to reveal details of the case, saying police would issue details.

The Youth Times reported that it was a common traffic accident, and that the bus driver suddenly turned left to avoid hitting other vehicles, but instead hit Sun's car.

According to China's laws and regulations, driving without a license can result in a fine of 200 yuan ($32.78) to 2,000 yuan, and can result in detention of up to 15 days.

Yang had become a headline figure at the beginning of this year in a dispute with his coach Zhu Zhigen.

Sun fired his long-term coach Zhu in March after Sun's love affair with an air hostess had made their relationship turn sour.

Sun was suspended from all commercial activities in February for breaching a "series of team rules" and had one month's training allowance withheld.

However, Sun still shined at the recent Barcelona Worlds, as well as the National Games in September, despite firing his previous coach.