‘I just need to prove it was not a fluke’
Horton still haunted by his victory over Yang
REGRETS, Mack’s had a few. But then again, too few to mention.
And just like the hit song made famous by Frank Sinatra, Mack Horton did what he had to do.
Revered by everyone who believes in clean sport for his unflinching courage in and out of the pool, Horton has opened up about his one regret for the Tokyo Olympics. He’ll never be sorry for protesting against the decision to let China’s Sun Yang compete at the 2019 world championships, even though he paid a high price for his bravery – hounded by thousands of Sun’s crazed supporters and rejected by cowardly sponsors afraid of upsetting Chinese consumers.
But Horton does have one misgiving about his hot-headed Chinese rival — that he won’t have the chance to beat him in Tokyo, just as he did at Rio in 2016.
As crazy as it sounds, Horton has been bugged by the idea that his victory over Sun in the 400m freestyle final in Brazil was a fluke.
Of course, it wasn’t anything of the kind – Horton won fair and square with an incredible performance – but he finished second behind Sun at the 2017 and 2019 world titles.
“It was so long ago and I never really took it in,” Horton said.
“And it’s like, being the first one, was it a fluke? Did I get lucky?
“So I’d love to be able to just do it again and just feel like it’s not a fluke, that I actually can do it.”
That won’t happen in Tokyo, for two reasons. Sun has been banned for over four years for tampering with his samples before they could be tested for drugs.
And Horton didn’t qualify for the 400m after finishing third at the Australian Olympic trials behind Elijah Winnington and Jack McLoughlin. Unlike Sun, Horton still made it to Japan though, as a member of the Australian 4x200m freestyle relay team, and he has a great shot at winning another Olympic gold medal.
Two years ago, the Australians won the same event at the world championships, with Horton clinching the gold with a blistering anchor leg.
And, with no individual races in Tokyo, he is doing everything to be in shape for a repeat performance in the Japanese capital.
“I really wanted to be on that relay, because what happened at the worlds was unreal,” he said.
“That was one of the best international swims I’ve probably done, that anchor leg, so I want to be a part of that again.”
Missing out on the 400m stung, but Horton was a little unlucky because his time at the trials was the third fastest in the world this year.
However, with countries only allowed to enter up to two swimmers in individual events, Winnington and McLoughlin got the Australian spots.
Still just 25, Horton was always planning to keep swimming after Tokyo and he has already set his sights on the next Olympics in 2024 – where he could be reacquainted with Sun, whose ban ends just before the Paris Games.
“You just don’t know where you’re going to be mentally after an Olympics, but three years sounds a lot easier than four, doesn’t it?” Horton said.
“It sounds more achievable, but at the same time, there’s also an understanding that some things don’t last forever. It could end tomorrow if you had a bad injury or something went wrong.”
Horton has also started planning for life outside of the pool.
He’s close to finishing a business degree and is considering architecture once he graduates.
“Eventually (swimming) will become less and less of a priority and I’d like to find something else that I love just as much,” he said.