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Swimming Australia voices support for Mack Horton over doping feud

“We don’t know if it is Horton who is silly or it’s the Australian media that is evil, or perhaps Australia just has a different moral standard”.

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That was followed by Horton refusing to shake Sun’s hand after beating him to the wall, and then – again – calling him a “drug cheat” at a press conference, with Sun seated right next to him.

Horton celebrated his victory without even acknowledging Sun in the lane next to him.

A spokesman for the AOC said Horton was entitled to express his point of view.

‘Under the Team Values ASPIRE the E stands for express yourself, that is his right. “For an athlete that’s clean it’s really frustrating”.

The 20-year-old did not back down on his strong stance against Yang, dismissing him as a drug cheat after describing his stunning gold-medal success as a “win for the good guys”.

Sun told the Seven Network on Sunday that “I am no friend of Mack Horton”.

“It got played up a bit, but he splashed me to say “Hi” and I ignored him”, Horton added.

DEFEATED – Australia’s men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team by winners United States and France, with legend Michael Phelps claiming his 19th Olympic gold medal.

Sun served a three-month ban in 2014 for traces of trimetazidine, which the swimmer said he was taking for heart palpitations.

Footage of Sun crying and inconsolable in front of Chinese media after the race was shared widely online.

Asked by a Chinese journalist why he called Sun a “drug cheat“, Horton said: “I used the words drug cheat because he tested positive”. That’s because the young gun’s repeated comments about 400-Metre Freestyle competitor and silver medalist Sun Yang’s prior doping ban have totally razzed up fans of the Chinese swimmer.

Over the weekend, Horton’s social media accounts were flooded with comments and abuse.

Tweets to Mr Horton that can be repeated, include: “YOU SHOULD APOLOGISE TO SUN YANG YOU SHOULD LEARN TO RESPECT OTHERS!” and “Not only a liar and a loser in life but a coward who doesn’t have the guts to admit what he say” [sic].

Many Chinese fans are fuming with Horton, while the Chinese team “demanding” an apology.

Despite its extensive coverage, the Global Times closed its Australia-bashing op-ed by insisting that China should not care about the likes of Horton, or rate the opinions of Australians in general.

Some of his rivals in Rio have suggested he shouldn’t have been allowed to defend his gold medals in the 400 and 1,500m from the 2012 London Olympics.

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“We would urge athletes to respect their fellow competitors”, International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said Monday.

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