The stirring win in the 400m freestyle came just hours after Horton said he had no respect for his Chinese rival Sun Yang, who he labelled a 'drug cheat.' Horton had been accused of snubbing Sun’s attempt to shake hands in the pool after his victory.
Horton said he had been planned the attack on Yang after reading Swimming Australia president John Bertrand's account of his famous 1983 America's Cup yachting triumph.
When pressed about his relationship with Horton by Channel Seven, he said he was “no friend” of the Australian. Sun reportedly told Chinese media that every Olympic athlete deserved respect. “That is just the gimmick of the Aussie swimmer,” he said. “Every athlete in the Olymipic Games is supposed to be respected.”
Footage of Sun bursting into tears while attempting to give an interview after losing the 400m race went viral on social media with the hashtag # 孙杨不哭# (“Sun Yang Don’t Cry”).
Australian gold medal-winning swimmer Mack Horton has come under sustained fire on social media after his gold medal-winning performance on day one of the Rio Olympics, following comments he made about his rival, Sun Yang.
Horton’s presences on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have been flooded with comments from Sun’s fans, demanding he apologise.
霍顿的脸书、推特和Instagram账号也充斥着孙杨粉丝的评论，要求他道歉。
Chinese state news agency Xinhua quoted swim team manager Xu Qi as saying: “We have been noticing what has been said in the past two days by Horton, who launched a malicious personal attack [on Chinese swimmers]. 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.”
