'I used the word 'drug cheat' because he tested positive': When Australia's Mack Horton defeated bitter Chinese rival Sun Yang in Rio
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Mack Horton unleashed with stinging words, then backed up the talk in the pool.
Just hours after labelling controversial Chinese swimmer Sun Yang a "drug cheat" at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games — a remark that incensed millions of Chinese people and instigated a media storm — Horton defeated his bitter rival in a captivating 400m freestyle final.
A bizarre training encounter had also intensified the pair's sour relationship ahead of the Rio showdown, with Sun splashing the Australian in an attempt to distract him as they shared the same pool. Horton ignored the taunts and carried on with his preparation.
Watch the video at the top of the page to see Mack Horton's Rio 2016 victory over bitter rival Sun Yang.
"I used the word 'drug cheat' because he tested positive," Horton told reporters after clinching gold.
"I just have a problem with him testing positive and still competing."
Australia's Mack Horton defeated bitter rival Sun Yang to win gold in the 400m freestyle at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Al Bello/Getty Images
Sun had served a three-month doping ban in 2014.
"I don't know if it's a rivalry between me and [Sun]; just me and athletes who have tested positive, I guess," Horton said.
"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 and Young fought a neck-and-neck battle over the final lap but the Australian touched the wall first, edging his rival by 0.13 of a second.
Sung burst into tears while talking to media after the race, leading to the hashtag #SunYangDontCry amassing more than 47 million views on Chinese social media.
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From left: Italian Gabriele Detti, Australia's Mack Horton and China's Sun Yang at the medal ceremony. Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
"On the competition stage, every athlete deserves to be respected and there's no need to use these sort of cheap tricks to affect each other," Sung said.
The pair's relationship took another explosive turn at the 2019 world championships in South Korea. Horton, the silver medallist in the 400m freestyle, refused to stand on the podium, instead standing to one side as Sun, the gold medallist, took to the top step.
Sun was in 2020 banned for eight years for doping-related offences, but had his suspension reduced to four years in 2021.
The 32-year-old's ban ended in May, but he won't be competing at the Paris Games.
Horton retired from swimming in January.
