Letters | When Mack Horton snubs Sun Yang, he’s tarnishing the image of Australian sports

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Silver medallist Mack Horton of Australia refuses to take the podium with gold medallist Sun Yang of China after the men’s 400m freestyle final at the 2019 FINA World Championships in Gwangju on July 21. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:00am, 29 Jul 2019Updated: 4:00am, 29 Jul 2019

Australian swimmer Mack Horton found himself in the spotlight for the wrong reasons during the medal presentation in Gwangju on July 21 (“Mack Horton warned by FINA over Sun Yang podium protest”, July 23). The Australian finished behind Chinese swimmer Sun Yang in the 400m freestyle.

After taking his silver medal, he stood behind the podium as Sun was awarded his gold medal and the second runner-up his bronze medal. Whether or not Horton’s behaviour on such a solemn occasion was in breach of sports ethics is a matter for the sport’s governing body to decide.

But what he did was senseless, distasteful and disrespectful to the hosting nation and his peers, and irreparable damage has been done to his country’s reputation and his own image.

Sun was in tears when he lost to Horton at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Nevertheless, he controlled his emotions and took his position on the podium for the subsequent medal presentation with Horton, in a noble show of sportsmanship.

The Chinese star served a three-month doping ban in 2014 and Horton has since called his rival a drug cheat, although Sun says he took medication for a heart condition and was not aware that it had been added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list that year.