Swimming feud between Mack Horton and Sun Yang boils over at Rio Olympics
By Mark Ashenden
Last Updated: 08/08/16 3:53pm
Officials from Australia and China have dived into the feud between swimmers Mack Horton and Sun Yang at the Rio Olympics.
The Chinese Swimming Association demanded Horton apologise on Monday for "inappropriate words" after the Australian labelled Sun a "drug cheat" - a reference to his three-month 2014 suspension over banned heart medication.
Australia's Olympic Committee hit back hours later in Horton's defence, saying he was speaking his mind in support of clean athletes and wished him luck.
Horton made a dazzling Olympic debut in the 400m freestyle on Saturday, edging out his Chinese rival to win. Sun was accused before the race of splashing water at Horton to get his attention with the Australian, making his initial "drug cheat" reference when asked why he had ignored Sun.
It was the second time in two days that Horton had publicly referred to Sun's drug suspension as part of what the Australian team acknowledged is a campaign to unsettle China's pool star.
Sun has previously said he did not know the medication trimetazidine, which he took for chronic heart palpitations, had been placed on the banned list when he tested positive.
The 24-year-old Sun, who won two golds at London 2012, has a reputation for bad behaviour and being disruptive to fellow swimmers.
The Chinese team briefly banned him from competing following a raft of disciplinary issues, including crashing a friend's car into a bus in 2013 while driving without a license, landing him in jail.
After losing to Horton on Sunday, Sun burst into tears which encouraged an outpouring of support from Chinese social media users who pilloried the Australian on his Facebook page. Horton was accused of snubbing Sun's attempt to congratulate him after the race, although the pair shook hands on the podium.
Chinese swim team manager Xu Qi laid into Horton, saying he had "hurt the feelings between Chinese and Australian swimmers" and showed "a lack of good manners and upbringing," according to the official Xinhua news agency.
Sun, who has largely refrained from firing back at his rival and has called for respect for all athletes, appeared to get his swagger back on Monday, telling reporters at the Olympic village that he is "the king" for Sunday's 1,500m freestyle event.
He will again go up against Horton and when pushed for a comment on his rival, he added that he was "no friend" of Horton's.
