Aussie swimmer Mack Horton’s heartbreaking medal regret

Aussie champion Mack Horton has given a heartbreaking, brutally honest answer when asked about his bronze medal won in Tokyo.

Aussie swimming champion Mack Horton is sitting in hotel quarantine holding a medal he says he doesn’t deserve.

The 25-year-old endured a crushing moment during the Tokyo Olympics last month when he was left out of Australia’s team for the final of the 4x200m freestyle relay at the last minute.

Good enough to swim in the heats, but overlooked for the final, Horton is serving his two weeks in hotel quarantine in Darwin with very mixed feelings about the medal he can place alongside the gold he won in the men’s 400m final in Rio de Janeiro five years ago.

After the 2016 Olympics — where he famously toppled Chinese swimmer Sun Yang in their bitter head-to-head rivalry — Horton was touted as the future superstar of Australian swimming.

He may yet be, but, right now, Australia has many other superstars — including Ariarne Titmus and Kaylee McKeown — that left Horton in the shadows in Tokyo.

His performance at the Australian Olympic trials in Adelaide wasn’t quick enough to secure a spot in the field of the 400m and he only narrowly got a ticket to fly to Tokyo as a member of the six-man relay team for the 4x200m freestyle event.

After swimming the slowest split as Australia finished its heat of the 4x200m as the second quickest team, Horton was bumped from the final to make way for Kyle Chalmers and Thomas Neill.

Mack Horton was in the background in Tokyo.

The team of Chalmers, Neill, Zac Incerti and Alexander Graham won the bronze. When they celebrated during the medal presentation ceremony, Horton was somewhere in the background.

There is absolutely no bitterness towards his teammates — but the situation remains “bitter sweet” for Horton.

He has now revealed on Something To Talk About with Samantha Armytage, a Stellar podcast, that he is conflicted about receiving the medal without competing in the final.

“It’s going to sound bad, but I don’t feel like I should actually have it to be honest,” he said in the latest edition of the podcast.

“I just didn’t swim very well over there. My team contribution wasn’t as great as other people’s. And, yeah, I don’t know, it’s difficult being in a relay. You have a team in the heat and a team in the final and you have people swimming off to get into the final.

“And I felt I was capable of doing that and getting through to the final team and I wanted obviously to be a part of that. And could have lifted the team a little bit more.”

He fully accepts the members on the team deserved their spots.

Mack Horton wasn’t on the podium when Alexander Graham, Kyle Chalmers, Zac Incerti and Thomas Neill ere awarded bronze.

“I didn’t swim fast enough in the heat so I didn’t have the opportunity to try and push everyone in the final,” he said.

“It’s bitter sweet. It’s a medal, but it’s not one that I’m that stoked with.”

Those feelings have been there ever since he exited the pool after the relay heats and looked up to see his time on the screen. He knew immediately he hadn’t swum fast enough for a spot in the final.

“Probably not as good as I was hoping, you know, it was probably not good enough to get through to the final team which is heartbreaking, but we got the team through and that’s all that matters,” a humble Horton said on the pool deck.

“It was a privilege to be part of it.”

He went on to say his feelings towards his bronze medal are further clouded by all the hours of training that he put in, only to ultimately miss out.

The result hasn’t beaten him. It has only added fuel to the burning fire that is driving him to the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

He is particularly motivated by the thought of winning a spot in the field for the 400m freestyle where he was the third fastest qualifier at the Australian Olympic Trials — an event where Aussie Jack McLoughlin took the silver medal and Elijah Winnington made the final in Tokyo.

“I’m not going out like this. I want to leave satisfied,” he said.

“Even after trials I was like I’m going through to 2024 because I missed my individual spot in the 400 which I really wanted. After that, I’m a hungry boy and I’m hungry for more.

“I’m ready for the next cycle.”

He will only be 28-years-old by the time Paris rolls around.