Mack Horton’s bombshell message to swimming officials: I’ll protest again if Sun Yang competes at Tokyo Olympics

Brave Mack Horton doesn’t care who he upsets as he fights for what is right. Anyone thinking he will be silent about drug cheat Sun Yang should think again.

Olympic champion Mack Horton has a powerful message for all the haters and self-serving global swimming bureaucrats who tried to censure him for protesting against Sun Yang’s participation at the 2019 world titles.

Refusing to cave in and compromise on his beliefs, the unflinching Australian anti-drugs crusader revealed he is willing to put his neck on the line again and stage another demonstration at this year’s rescheduled Tokyo Olympics, if the situation arises.

In an exclusive sit-down interview with The Sunday Telegraph – which published the entire secret report into Sun’s hammer-smashing meltdown that triggered the 2019 protests – Horton disclosed that even though he’s still copping abuse from Sun’s fanatical Chinese supporters, he has never had any misgivings about standing up for clean sport and was prepared to do it again.

“I did it because I didn’t want to regret not doing it or not saying something,” Horton said.

“So yeah, I would do something again.”

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Mack Horton’s famous protest at the World Championships. Picture: Getty Images

Horton’s explosive admission will be music to the ears of everyone who firmly believes that athletes should be free to speak out on issues close to their hearts, but it will set off alarm bells among Olympic and swimming officials frightened of upsetting China.

Horton has always made it clear his campaign to protect clean athletes has never been personally directed at Sun or his homeland, but was instead aimed at the flawed system which permits athletes from some countries to compete at major events while they’re still under investigation for alleged anti-doping offences while competitors from other nations are immediately stood down.

That glaring double standard remains one of the biggest frustrations for everyone involved in the fight against doping in sport along with the realisation that the biggest fish too often get away with brazenly breaking the rules while the tiddlers get the book thrown at them for accidental breaches.

Horton is one of the brave few athletes willing to call it out but the 24-year-old has already paid a massive price for his courageous stance, subjected to death threats and disgusting abuse from Sun’s crazed followers and overlooked by multinational sponsors wanting to cash in on China’s rising economic muscle.

“It was obviously pretty brutal for a bit and it goes on,” Horton said.

Mack Horton has no regrets about this moment. Picture: Getty Images

“But you adapt. Everyone’s got used to it and we’ve obviously got a fair bit of support as well.”

As exclusively revealed by The Sunday Telegraph, global swimming officials secretly tried to strip Horton of the silver medal he won at the 2019 world titles, but were persuaded to back down for fear of inciting more protests.

Their limp-wristed compromise was to issue warnings to both Horton and Swimming Australia while letting Sun off the hook.

Horton has maintained a dignified silence in the 18 months since his protest, deliberately keeping a low-profile during the pandemic as he focuses all his attention on preparing to defend his Olympic title.

But while declaring he is prepared to stage another protest, the Victorian is still trying to figure out the best way to make his point, so has come up with an alternative plan.

In his 2019 protest, Horton elected not to stand on the podium after receiving his silver medal but noticed that Scotland’s Duncan Scott, who staged a separate protest after finishing in a dead heat for third behind Sun in the 200m final, had a slight variation.

Scott remained on the rostrum after collecting his medal, but did not join the winner on the top step for a group photo and Horton thinks that may be a more appropriate way to protest at the Olympics.

“In hindsight, maybe it was a bit extreme,” Horton said.

“I think Duncan Scott was maybe a bit more tasteful but maybe he looks a bit more tasteful because of what I did.

“He got up on the podium but didn’t get on the top dais for the photo.”

Mack Horton isn’t taking a backwards step in his fight against drug cheats. Picture: Alex Coppel

It’s still unknown whether Horton and Sun will square off against each other in Tokyo with the hot-headed Chinese heading back to the Court of Arbitration for Sport next month for the next instalment in his latest drawn out doping case.

Banned for eight years after three arbitrators unanimously found him guilty of tampering with his samples before they could be tested for drugs, Sun was given a reprieve when the Swiss Federal Supreme Court ordered a retrial because one of the judges had castigated the Chinese practice of slaughtering dogs for meat consumption on social media, raising questions about his impartiality.

But with the hearing set to take place via video conference between May 24-28, it’s possible the verdict won’t be announced in time for the Tokyo Olympics, starting July 23, raising the prospect Sun could again compete with a case against him pending.

The men’s 400m freestyle final is scheduled for July 25 and Horton says he is preparing the same regardless of whether Sun is in the pool with him or not.

“To be honest, I haven’t really thought about it but if he is there, it’s no different to every other international meet I’ve raced because he’s always been there,” Horton said.

“So, if he’s not there. It’ll be weird, it’ll be different.”

Originally published as Mack Horton’s bombshell message to swimming officials: I’ll protest again if Sun Yang competes at Tokyo Olympics