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Sun Yang wins gold as diplomatic row escalates

Controversial Sun Yang has become the first Chinese swimmer to win the Olympic men’s 200m freestyle gold medal.

Aug 09, 2016, updated Aug 09, 2016
Gold medal winner Mack Horton stands on the winners' podium beside silver medallist Sun Yang and Gabriele Detti of Italy (bronze). Photo: Dean Lewins, AAP.

Gold medal winner Mack Horton stands on the winners' podium beside silver medallist Sun Yang and Gabriele Detti of Italy (bronze). Photo: Dean Lewins, AAP.

Sun, silver medallist in the event in London four years ago, touched the wall in one minute, 44.65 seconds to beat South Africa’s Chad Le Clos by 0.55 seconds.

It was Sun’s second medal of the Games after silver in the 400m free on Saturday.

That result has spawned a diplomatic row, with Australia flatly rejecting calls for an apology over swimmer Mack Horton’s controversial comments about the Chinese swimmer.

A war of words was sparked by Horton, who dismissed Sun as a drug cheat after beating him to claim the gold on the opening night of the Rio Games.

China has demanded an apology but the International Olympic Committee says it has not yet received a formal complaint and does not intend to investigate further.

Spokesman Mark Adams has also given Horton qualified support.

“People say many things after competition and they’re entitled to say those things,” he said overnight, Australian time.

Australian chef de mission Kitty Chiller says there will be no apology.

“Mack obviously has very strong views about the need for clean sport, as every single one of us does,” she said.

“He has every right to express his views and his displeasure in that sense.

“We have no intention of making an apology.”

Horton also has the support of other medal-winning Aussies, trap shooting gold medallist Catherine Skinner and bronze medal-winning synchronised swimmers Maddison Keeney and Annabelle Smith, who backed his anti-drugs stance.

“I’m all for clean sport. Everyone should have an equal playing field,” Keeney said.

“I support Mack. I’m with him all the way.”

Horton called his 400m triumph over Sun a “win for the good guys”, in reference to the dual London Olympic gold medallist serving a three-month ban for testing positive to banned stimulant trimetazidine in 2014.

But the China swimming team was unimpressed.

“We have been noticing what has been said in the past two days by Horton, who launched a malicious personal attack (on Sun),” team manager Xu Qi told online news service Chinagate.

“We think his inappropriate words greatly hurt the feelings between Chinese and Australian swimmers… it is proof of a lack of good manners and upbringing.

“We strongly demand an apology from this swimmer.”

Adams said the IOC wanted to encourage freedom of speech but the Olympics was also about respecting the right of others to compete.

“There is a line somewhere there where people should be free to compete in tranquillity,” he said.

Chiller said she didn’t think Horton would be too fazed by the controversy.

“Mack is in a pretty good place. He’s got probably his best event coming up in a few days and I know he, like all the swimmers, are focused on their own event, their own lane,” she said.

“I would hazard a guess that it wouldn’t affect him at all.”

-AAP

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