Scott podium snub sparks Sun tirade
‘Drug cheat’ rages at Scots swim star
CONTROVERSIAL Chinese swimmer Sun Yang shouted ‘you’re a loser, I’m a winner’ at Duncan Scott after the Scot refused to share a podium with him.
Sun, who served a three-month doping ban in 2014, was elevated to the gold medal position in the 200metre freestyle at the world championships after Lithuania’s Danys Rapsys was disqualified.
Scott, awarded bronze, stood apart after the medal presentation and declined to stand on the top step of the podium for pictures — prompting a furious reaction from Sun.
Scott said: ‘If he can’t respect our sport, then why should I respect him? Hopefully this will happen in more events.’
The 22-year-old Scot’s stance was cheered by most of the arena, barring a vocal section of Chinese supporters and the extraordinary scenes led to both swimmers being issued with a warning from FINA, the sport’s governing body.
It follows their decision to warn Mack Horton after the Australian also refused to share a podium with Sun following the 400m freestyle on Sunday.
Horton had previously called Sun a ‘drug cheat’ at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Many of Sun’s rivals believe he should not be
competing, with the 27-year-old due to face a Court of Arbitration hearing in September over a separate doping offence.
Scott’s team-mate Adam Peaty, looking on before he raced in the semi-final of the 50m breaststroke, supported his fellow Brit’s stance.
He said: ‘Yes I saw that. He is completely right. If people are booing him it’s for a reason. He should be asking himself — should I really be in this sport when people are booing me? But I know how they are and I know how he is so it’s yeah… If I was swimming I wouldn’t even get on the podium for that matter.’
There was, said Peaty, no prior discussion among the team about what would happen if they were to share a podium with Sun as the movement among fans, observers and competitors grows ever louder.
‘The most important thing as a sportsperson is that you have a right to a voice. Duncan showed his voice tonight and so did the crowd,’ Peaty said.
‘It’s fair that whatever is going on behind the scenes now is not going right because if the fans aren’t wanting it, then why is he even here?’
Peaty will return to the pool tomorrow night looking to add the 50m breaststroke title to his 100m gold after clocking 26.11, the fifth-fastest time in history and one bettered only by him.
GREAT BRITAIN’S Jessica Macaulay won bronze in the women’s high diving event at the World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju.
Norfolk-born, Texas-based Macaulay scored a total of 295.4 in her first World Championships, placing her behind gold medallist Rhiannan Iffland of Australia, who scored 298.05, and second-placed Adriana Jimenez of Mexico on 297.90.