Swimming World Championships 2019: Mack Horton a splash out of the pool

He gets plenty of cheers for his sporting prowess. But the applause in the dining hall was different.

Swimmer Mack Horton (left) is seen celebrating with team mates after being named in the Australian Team to compete at the World Swimming Championships in South Korea.

Mack Horton is well-accustomed to the sound of wild applause for his sporting prowess.

But the claps and cheers that greeted the Olympic gold medallist in the dining hall at the world championships in Gwangju, South Korea, on Sunday night were different.

Horton, 23, had just snubbed Chin­ese swimmer Sun Yang — an accused drug cheat — at the 400m freestyle medal ceremony by refusing to stand alongside him on the podium, an act guaran­teed to polarise the global audience.

However, when Horton returned­ to the athletes’ dining quarters moments later, the response­ from his peers — many of whom have also felt the sting of defeat to rivals who are suspected of taking performance-enhancing drugs — was resounding.

“We were kind of waiting around for that awards ceremony to see what was going to happen — and, yeah, it was awesome,’’ said American 100m breaststroke Olympic champion Lilly King, who like Horton has long been an outspoken critic of drug cheats.

MORE:Fallout — International Swimming Federation issues warning letter to Horton | Sports editor Wally Mason on why we should back Mack | Reaction — Chinese backlash downplayed

“When he walked in … the whole dining hall erupted in applaus­e, so it was great to see the athletes united on his stance and supporting him as well.”

Horton’s teammate Mitch Larkin stood foursquare behind him. “I think 100 per cent of the Aussie athletes certainly back Mack up and I was saying before that, while he was standing alone on the podium last night, he’s not standing alone in spirit,” said Larkin­ after his heat swim.

“We are all fighting for a clean sport and you have to trust that the performance that you do and the training that you do is enough to get you across the line.”

But world governing body FINA was not as impressed, sending a warning letter to Horton and Swimming Australia last night. “While FINA respects the principle of freedom of speech, it has to be conducted in the right context,’’ the letter read.

Horton refuses to share the podium with Sun Yang. Picture: Getty Images

“As in all major sports organisations, our athletes and their ­entourages are aware of their ­responsibilities to respect FINA regulations and not use FINA events to make personal statements or gestures.’’

The letter gave no hint of what might happen if Horton repeated his protest.

Other Olympians from Australia and overseas took to social media to support ­ Horton.

Swimmer Cate Campbell tweeted: “Taking a stand for clean sport. Mack Horton we salute you.” Her sister Bronte Campbell posted a picture of Horton beside the medal podium on Sunday night with the caption: “Not many people have the guts to stand up for what they believe. This guy does.”

British Olympian Chris Walker-Hebborn tweeted: “What an absolute legend, Mack Horton, you will always be the real champ.”

But the reaction in China was just as swift, with Horton derided by many as a sore loser.

An influential nationalist commentator Lei Xiying commented on Weibo: “Why would we care how he (Horton) thinks? Does it deserve it? Even Australia does not deserve to be an adversary of a new China, not to ­mention such an insignificant swimmer like him. We beat him, that’s enough.”

Sun accused Horton of disrespecting China and Australia.

“It is also OK if you don’t ­respect me personally, but during the victory ceremony, which is the most important event, we all represent our countries, you should stand on the podium, and show your respect to my country China and your country Australia and to the audience,” Sun said.

 

In a sense, Horton’s decision to effectively boycott the 400m freestyle victory ceremony for Sun was entirely spontaneous. After all, it was only made possible because he figured as one of the medallists and that prospect had seemed totally ridiculous after he had lost the event at the Australian selection trials.

But because he qualified for the team as a relay swimmer and there was a spot open in the 400, he was allowed to swim it at worlds.

But in another sense, Horton’s protest had been building.

He was the one who first blew the whistle on Sun’s colourful past by labelling him a drug cheat at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Later that same day, he beat Sun in the 400m freestyle final and happily stood on the top rung of the podium, the vanquished “drug cheat” a step below him.

On the wider front, things have been brewing for months.

The Sunday Times broke the world exclusive in January that Sun’s entourage had used a hammer to smash blood samples he had just provided to a drug-testing agency. His explanation was that he doubted the credentials of the woman who took his blood.

But the suspicion was that he had something to hide. Whatever the truth, the testers had warned him that he could be charged with a serious breach if he interfered with their samples. Undeterred, he went ahead and observed their destruction.

FINA ruled that he could compete in Gwangju ahead of the Court of Arbitration for Sport tribunal into the incident set down for September.