Brazil – On Saturday, the Australian Team won gold in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay.
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He has had problems out of the pool since London, serving a three-month ban in 2014 after testing positive for a banned stimulant and spending a week in jail for crashing a vehicle while driving without a licence.
It was billed as an aquatic grudge match – and on Saturday, Mack Horton came out on top against one of swimming’s more controversial figures in Sun Yang in the most nail-biting race on the opening night of swimming in Rio de Janeiro.
The front page of Sydney’s Daily Telegraph Monday led with the headline “Clean Machine” over an image of the swimmer and his gold medal, adding that “our superman shows world how to smash drug cheats”.
Sun had served a three-month doping ban in 2014, which the Chinese authorities did not reveal.
Both these aspects are present in abundance during Mack Horton – Sun Yang contests in the longer freestyle events, 400, 800 and 1500. “He wasn’t happy about that so he kept splashing me, and I just go in and did my thing”.
And the Australian Olympic Committee said Horton was insisted: “He has spoken out in support of clean athletes”.
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 Australian’s comments prompted a heated response on social media, where many Chinese fans describing the remarks as unjustified.
“Sun Yang is just the drug cheat”. At last year’s world championships, he was accused of assaulting a Brazilian female swimmer, Larissa Olivera, following an argument in the warm-up pool.
Canada’s Sandrine Mainville, Chantal Van Landeghem, Taylor Ruck and Penelope Oleksiak took the bronze ahead of London silver medallists the Netherlands, who were anchored by triple Olympic champion Ranomi Kromowidjojo. In China, he was caught driving a Porsche without a license – only after he rammed into a bus.
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Mack Horton, 20, won gold against Chinese Sun Yang, in what he called “a victory for the good guys”. Sun is the world-record holder and defending gold medalist in the 1500 free. “I just have a problem with athletes who have tested positive and are still competing”. The two are now slated to swim in the same heat of that race next Saturday.
