Mack attack will now have to wait until 2020
THE next instalment of Mack Horton’s grudge match with arch rival Sun Yang will have to wait at least another year after the Australian missed out on a place in tonight’s 800m freestyle final at the world swimming championships.
While the scandal-tainted Chinese champion sneaked into the final in eighth spot, Horton failed to advance to the final after qualifying 14th, defusing the prospect of another explosive showdown between swimming’s fiercest rivals.
Queensland’s Jack McLoughlin will fly the flag for Australia after posting the third quickest time in the heats, behind Italian race favourite Gregorio Paltrinieri.
“The 800m at the moment is very, very fast so I think it’s going to really step up again,” McLoughlin said.
“Hopefully I will be in the mix there because I think there was a lot of … fast, quality swimmers, who missed out.”
Horton’s absence removes any chance of the Australian staging another silent protest against Sun when he refused to join him on the medal podium after finishing second to his nemesis in Sunday’s 400m final.
Swimming’s world governing body FINA has already warned Horton and Swimming Australia about his conduct at the ceremony, which has been universally hailed as a courageous statement against the scourge of doping in high performance sport but has plunged the sport into crisis.
While swimmers from other countries gave Horton a standing ovation, FINA took a dim view of his actions so now the Australian is biting his lip over the issue after he began receiving death threats from Sun’s crazed fans.
Speaking for the first time since his silent protest, Horton said he didn’t want to talk about it at the moment for fear his comments might detract from the rest of the Dolphins.
“We can try but really, as much as I want to protect the sport, I still need to protect the team,” he said. “The focus now is the team’s performances and focusing on what everyone else is doing and making sure we get through the week.”
The pair have been at each other’s throats since the 2016 Rio Olympics when Horton called Sun a drug cheat after it was discovered he had secretly served a three-month suspension for testing positive to a banned stimulant.