Horton resumes ‘war’ with Sun
BUDAPEST: It has already been dubbed ‘‘the War on Water II’’.
But Olympic champion Mack Horton still managed to pump up his rivalry with Sun Yang even further before the world championships in Budapest, by again dismissing him as a drug cheat.
The stage was already set for an explosive reunion in Hungary between Australian Horton and seventime world champion Sun after they famously locked horns at the Rio Olympics.
Horton caused a sensation at the 2016 Games when he slammed Sun, saying he had ‘‘no time or respect for drug cheats’’ before upsetting the Chinese champion in the 400m freestyle gold medal race.
And Horton could not help but have another dig before kicking off the eightday championship in the 400m freestyle heats yesterday, as he prepares to line up against defending champion Sun for the first time since their Rio showdown.
Asked if he looked forward to resuming his rivalry with Sun in Hungary, 21yearold Horton said: ‘‘I don’t know if it is a rivalry.
‘‘I think it is a rivalry between clean athletes and athletes who have tested positive but there should be some good racing.’’
Flying the flag for clean sport has come at a price for Horton.
China’s swimming team demanded an official apology at the Rio Games over his comments and Horton is still bombarded by vile abuse from online trolls.
Asked if he had any regrets over his ‘‘drug cheat’’ call after enduring the fallout, Horton said: ‘‘I think I would do the same thing even if I knew the outcome.
‘‘I don’t think that [reaction] changes anything.’’
Horton called his 400m gold medal victory in Rio over Sun a ‘‘win for the good guys’’, referring to the Chinese champion serving a threemonth ban for testing positive to a banned stimulant in 2014.
Threetime Olympic gold medallist Sun raised eyebrows when he served a threemonth ban in 2014 in secret and returned to competition before his suspension was officially confirmed by Chinese officials.
Now a member of the Australian team leadership group, Horton is due to clash with Sun in the 200m, 800m and 1500m freestyle events in Budapest.
The confident Horton is very different from the Australian rookie who made his world titles debut in 2015 in Kazan. Horton failed to make the 400m and 1500m finals in Russia after being struck down by an infection but somehow managed to bounce back with 800m freestyle bronze.
‘‘When I think about that 2015 experience, it was more that’s what losing feels like,’’ Horton said.
‘‘I know that if I do lose it’s not the end of the world, so don’t stress, relax, it’s going to be OK.
‘‘That’s what I took away from 2015.’’
Tom Daley, Britain’s 2009 world champion, thwarted China’s bid to become the first country to win four successive diving world titles in the men’s 10metre platform when the 23yearold prevailed over Olympic champion Chen Aisen in a thrilling final.
Chen was aiming to keep China’s golden exploits intact after Qiu Bo’s hattrick of titles had matched American Greg Louganis’ feat of more than 30 years ago.
However, Daley posted a personalbest points haul of 590.95, which included five 10s in a sizzling final dive, to secure his first individual global title for eight years, when he won as a 15yearold in Rome.
Chen admitted that he thought he would win gold with his finalround tally of 106.20 before Daley equalled the mark and held two arms aloft.
Daley had earlier partnered Grace Reid to a surprise silver in the mixed 3metre synchro springboard final. Wang Han and Li Zheng, of China, won gold.