“I don’t know if it’s a rivalry between me and him, just a rivalry between me and athletes who have tested positive”, Horton told Channel Seven, referring to Sun’s 2014 drug ban.
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He’s yet another member of this Rio Australian swim team who looks a little nerdy and has the academic CV to go along with it. Horton is studying a uni commerce course online.
The 20-year-old from Victoria talked the talk and then walked the walk, smashing his way to a stunning 400m freestyle victory at the Olympic Aquatic Centre in a time of 3:41.55.
China’s controversial champions swimmer Sun Yang finished with silver medal despite being the red-hot favourite to win the race.
The reports have drawn a flurry of anger among mainland Chinese media and netizens, who branded the reports as a “malicious attack” to “smear” Sun, so he will not perform as well at the Olympics. “He wasn’t too happy about that so he kept splashing me and I just got in and did my thing”.
The pair will stand side by side on the starting blocks for Saturday night’s 400m freestyle final.
The Rio Olympics have yet to begin and swimming’s enfant awful Sun Yang has already courted controversy after claims the Chinese giant tried to intimidate Australian rival Mack Horton during training.
At the 2015 world titles in Russia, Yang was accused of assaulting a female Brazilian swimmer after an argument in the warm-up pool.
“Yang was trying to get his (Horton’s) attention, but he stayed calm”, said Horton’s coach Craig Jackson after the incident. Horton, with his high cruising speed, will try to grind him into the ground.
Sun Yang is looking forward to maintaining his 400-meter and 1,500-meter freestyle Olympic titles in Rio this month.
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“(Before the race) I was surprisingly, stupidly relaxed.
