Make Mack Australian of the Year

Swimming legend Mack Horton’s stand on doping is the kind of behaviour Australians are used to seeing. And now that others are following his lead, swimming authorities will be forced to act, writes David Mills.

Mack Horton gets my vote for Australian of the Year.

His public protest against Chinese swimmer Sun Yang at the World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea this week took enormous courage, and exposed the widespread frustration among the professional swimming community with its governing body’s handling of doping accusations.

In the 48 hours following his decision to not stand on the winner’s podium alongside Yang, a three-time Olympic winner, Horton copped death threats, criticisms, accusations of hypocrisy and a stern rebuke from the International Swimming Federation — better known as FINA — for his actions.

RELATED: FINA send Swimming Australia and Mack Horton warning letters over podium protest against Sun Yang

But British swimmer Duncan Scott has followed Horton’s suit and staged his own protest against Yang, and he did so knowing that he would likely be hit with his own official warning.

After Horton’s protest, FINA released a fatuous statement, saying they “respect the principle of freedom of speech” but “it has to be conducted in the right context”.

Scott’s protest was the perfect response to such weasel words; an elegant two-fingered “up yours” to the authorities.

Sun Yang (centre) was seen goading Duncan Scott (left) after he followed Mack Horton’s lead and refused to stand on the podium with him. Picture: AP/Mark Schiefelbein

Scott’s actions are a neat example of the power of the “first follower” phenomenon. Coined by the American writer Derek Sivers, the theory is that the first people who follow somebody’s else’s actions help legitimise the leader’s stand.

“Being a first follower is an under-appreciated form of leadership,” Sivers writes.

MORE OPINION: Mack Horton and the presumption of innocence

“The first follower transforms a lone nut into a leader. If the leader is the flint, the first follower is the spark that makes the fire.”

That fire is quickly catching, with swimmers all over the world now standing up to demand better and swifter action on doping in their sport.

The onus is on FINA now to act. Clearly, if they don’t, they risk more protests against tainted swimmers at international events.

MORE OPINION: FINA’s decision to punish a clean athlete but let the drug cheat swim is a disgrace

One of the criticisms thrown at Horton over the past few days is that he is not respecting the rule of presumption of innocence until proven guilty. But Horton is not a judge. He’s a competitor, and his rival has a big, fat, prior guilty mark against his name. (Yang tested positive for the stimulant trimetazidine in 2014, and allegedly smashed vials of his own blood with a hammer last year in a bid to prevent anti-doping testers from taking his samples.) What’s Horton meant to do — just stand by and watch as a prior drug cheat with continuing questions to answer wins the races and claims the highest spot on the dais?

Mack Horton’s decision to not stand on the podium alongside Sun Yang has lead to other swimmers following suit. Picture: Ed Jones/AFP

Horton’s protest did something greater than just drawing attention to the accusations against the Chinese swimmer.

In that one move, the 23-year-old reminded Aussies that we can still be the good guys. That we can take a stand for what’s right.

MORE FROM DAVID MILLS: How a gay bar riot changed the world

In the wake of the ball-tampering scandal that enveloped the First XI in 2018, it’s a powerful message to be reminded of, and one that should be communicated to every single sporting club and young person in the country.

We remain the nation of the “fair go” — and Mack Horton is the elite athlete we want all of our Australian elite athletes to be.

David Mills is a news journalist at News Corp Australia.