Horton, whose mild manner and Harry Potter-style spectacles belie his toughness, said he knew that by calling Sun a dope cheat out he’d put himself on the spot.
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The Radcliffe-born swimmer scraped into the final of the 400m freestyle yesterday but rose to the occasion in the final in the early hours of this morning before finally finishing sixth.
“We think that his inappropriate comments have greatly harmed the relations of China and Australia, as well as the image of Australian athletes”.
Tens of thousands of people have since posted angry comments on Horton’s social media.
The Australian gold medals came from the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team that set a new world record to follow the triumph of compatriot Mack Horton.
“I used the words drug cheat because he tested positive …”
The Australian Olympic Committee has thrown its support behind Horton, saying he has spoken out in support of clean athletes.
“Mack obviously has very strong views about the need for clean sport, as every single one of us does, and he has every right to express his views and his displeasure in that sense”.
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 auto while driving without a license.
“This is something he feels strongly about and good luck to him”.
“Horton is a loser because of his bad behaviour”. However, Kalisz had to settle for silver behind Japan’s Kosuke Hagino, who finished the strongest in the freestyle leg to win gold, with compatriot Daiya Seto grabbing bronze.
Sun claimed the medication was prescribed for heart palpitations, saying he was unaware it had been placed on the banned list.
After an exciting opening ceremony featuring climate activism and an oiled-up Tongan, the 2016 Olympic Games are officially underway – and you know what that means.
“You are too complacent and will die quickly”, one Chinese fan wrote on Horton’s Instagram account.
Horton held off a late push by Yang to touch the wall in a time of 3:41.55 to wrap up Australia’s first gold in Rio.
The swimmer was then banned for three months.
Horton explained his attitude to the Guardian in the following way: “The last 50m I was thinking about what I said and what would happen if he gets me here – I didn’t have a choice but to beat him”.
Following his success in his division, Horton reportedly told the media that his win was “definitely” a feat for the “good guys”.
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“I’ve been chasing that world record for a long time”, said Hosszu, who was whisker away from it in the heats.
