The talismanic Chinese giant bounced back from losing his 400m title to Australian Mack Horton by reeling in fast-starting Le Clos to become the first man to win three of the five Olympic freestyle titles.
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Lacourt, who finished fifth in the 100 m backstroke final not long after Sun claimed gold in the 200m freestyle, likened the sport to athletics with a belief there are a number of athletes in each race who are taking performance enhancing drugs. “I just have a problem with athletes who have tested positive and are still competing”, he said.
The Chinese swimming team demanded an apology, calling the comments a “malicious personal attack”, but Australia’s chef de mission Kitty Chiller insisted that they “have no intention of making an apology” and that Horton “has every right to express his views and his displeasure”.
He said, “We do support our athletes and trust them that when they say things, they say them with respect and openness and transparency”. “He’s here so I feel as if we’ve got to go race him so that’s what I’m trying to do”.
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. “I don’t think we need to talk about the Australian swimmer’s comments”.
Sun told Chinese media, “That is just the gimmick of the Aussie swimmer”.
China’s Global Times newspaper, which is close to the ruling Communist party, wrote in a commentary that referenced Australia’s “early history as Britain’s offshore prison”.
Horton’s Instagram account stopped allowing users to post comments on Monday. “Maybe he won gold in the game but he will never win in life”, said one person on Twitter. “You know what, China?” it said. “#ApologizeToSunYang” said another tweet. “All bets are off since you made a decision to call us an “uncivilised ex-prison”. You are a loser!
“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”, Horton said at the presser.
Horton’s sledge towards Sun saw him receive death threats from Chinese swimming fans.
Sun Yang won a gold medal in ghd Olympic men’s 200 meters freestyle event.
To be sure, Sun was banned from competition in 2014, but it was for only three months and for a proscribed substance, trimetazidine, that had been prescribed for angina, a heart condition. “I’m clean; I’ve done everything it takes to prove I’m clean”.
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“But we’re the defending world champions, we hold the trophy and it’s going to be a dogfight I think”.
