Sun Yang (C) of China, Mack Horton (L) of Australia and Gabriele Detti of Italy pose during the medal ceremony for the men's 400m freestyle final at the Gwangju 2019 FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, July 21, 2019. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)
By Qiao Di
BEIJING, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The reaction of Mack Horton to Sun Yang's 400m freestyle gold at the World Aquatics Championship was an understandable one. Horton once again found himself second to Sun at another major event and needed to find someone or something to blame.
For elite level athletes, who work immensely hard in their craft, who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of their goals, losing can be hard. However, consistently losing to the same individual can be heart-breaking.
Once again, Horton lost to Sun. Yet this is a story, not of irregularities around doping, but of an athlete who is failing to come to terms with the fact that they lost, once again to the superior swimmer. It is a story of someone who is embroiled in their own conspiracy around the trope of the crooked Chinese athlete.
Horton may have embarrassed himself, his sponsors - who may have another look at their partnership with him, and his country, but it is the inclusive sport of swimming that will be hurt most.
Australia's Mack Horton reacts after a heat for the men's 800m freestyle event during the swimming competition at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, July 23, 2019. (Xinhua/Tao Xiyi)
Sun, in 2014, received a three-month suspension from the sport after he was prescribed heart medication containing a banned substance. However, for Horton, this mistake by a doctor is enough to see a Chinese athlete thrown out of the sport.
Unfortunately for the sport of swimming, this is just one of a number of immature reactions by the Australian athlete.
More recently during the Rio games in 2016, Horton accused Sun of splashing him during training. Although a weird claim, the story is the fact that Horton thought being splashed, in a swimming pool, while swimming, was an unforgivable crime.
Bizarre responses to getting excessively wet in a swimming pool aside, the most recent juvenile outburst from Horton shows a darker and bitterer side to him.
Most levelheaded people would not accept a doctor without qualifications treating them for an illness, then why should anyone expect Sun to accept a tester with unacceptable accreditation.
For Horton, he saw the reasonable request by Sun as part of one big conspiracy theory where the crooked, untrustworthy Chinese individual takes center stage. It is unfortunate that this orientalist view of the world has begun to define his worldview and the view of his international sport.
For the Olympics next year, when Horton is likely to lose once again to Sun, perhaps he should base his next conspiracy theory on FINA.
Sun has followed the rules and regulations laid out by FINA time and time again. However, this time the lack of clarity by the organization has caused the problem. Yet it is weird to expect other athletes to withdraw themselves from an event despite being cleared to compete. Any serious athlete would know that. Any serious athlete would understand the inbuilt desire to compete and represent their country.
The questions should not center around Sun, but on whether FINA and their testing protocols are fit for purpose. However, it is clear that after Horton's publicity stunt, he is not a serious athlete. Just another attention-seeking primadonna, without the guts to protest FINA.
Sun is one of the greatest swimmers in the history of the sport. A three-month suspension for an unfortunate mistake does not explain why Sun has produced and achieved so much over a long career. This is an undeniable fact that a mature, level-headed athlete would understand.
