It’s a controversy that’s taken the swimming world by storm, with Australia’s Mack Horton refusing to stand on the podium alongside China’s Sung Yan in apparent protest of his recent dealings with FINA’s doping authority.
Horton, who won silver, has had a tense history with Yang, who was previously suspended for three months by the Chinese Swimming Federation in 2014 for using banned substance trimetazidine.
More recently, however, Sun attracted a firestorm of controversy when he and a security guard smashed vials containing his blood in front of doping authorities. While FINA accepted a panel’s decision that the blood samples in question were collected improperly and without authorisation, WADA have appealed the decision.
With so many questions marks as to what’s actually going on – is Horton’s protest justified?
We got Roar expert Glenn Mitchell on the Game of Codes podcast to analyse the Horton-Yang stoush and make a call on what’s fair and what’s too far.
Listen to the discussion:
Horton’s protests have, unfortunately, taken attention away from some Australian achievements in the pool – most notably 18-year-old Ariarne Titmus’ stunning upset of US superstar Katie Ledecky in the 400m freestyle.
Visit our Game of Codes hub to catch the full episode and be sure to subscribe and review on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever else you’re listening.
bazza200
Guest
Not really you have a doctor who's job is to know what you are allowed to take the regulations are published. Your job as a full time swimmer is to be aware of what you want to take and what you can't If the swimmer was a part timer i would understand they are full time and have a full time team on his side zero excuses.
jameswm
Roar Guru
Yeah. You were only legally allowed to use it if you had a therapeutic use exemption, and then it was used to treat angina. You're kidding yourself if you think that's why Sun was taking it. What about smashing blood vials? That's fair enough, right?
jameswm
Roar Guru
Maybe you should look up the word hypocrite, because it's not what you're describing. Horton HAS in fact come out and denounced Shayna Jack, and quite rightly points out that this actually strengthens our argument against doping. The Aussie drug authorities tested one of their own athletes out of comp, found a positive, and withdrew them. How does that reflect poorly on Mack Horton? I do think you've missed the point.
Tander
Guest
Why? he has 3 team mates who are past cheats and he is fine with them in his team and now another of his team mates has tested positive just before the championships and he says nothing. He is a total hypocrite. i dont support total hypocrites and never will. Would he have refused to stand on the podium if he had won? Horton should shut up publicly and do his grandstanding behind closed doors.
MarkD
Guest
Wonder hows Sun's angina is going?
Pablo
Guest
emmmm .... big difference between bringing sand paper with you to tamper with a cricket ball and getting caught using a drug that was you were legally entitled to use a month before. It's possible one incident was an accidental mistake .. the other was premeditated cheating, no ifs or buts.
Kdog
Guest
And look how the sandpaper incident was handled, the cricketers involved got the most intense punishments not by the controlling body, the ICC that gave them a 1 match ban, but by CA that gave them a 12 month suspension, that they served. Lets look at Sun, the national and international bodies condon his behavior, and his not shown any form of contrition for his actions.
Justin Kearney
Roar Rookie
Absolute garbage. Horton is taking a stand and deserves our support.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
If it's good enough for Dawn to back Mack, that's good enough for me. I think most Aussies are mortified if an Aussie cheats; just look at how we cut ourselves up over the sandpaper
Aw
Guest
Give me a break. You can kow-tow to the Chinese all you want but don't expect the rest us to follow. Horton has the right to protest and Sun acted like a spoilt little brat to him and Scott.
jack
Guest
All 25 million Australians? Bit of a generalization mate, don't you think.
charly_777
Guest
Kabaddi World Cup begins in Canada! Let's go Argentina!
Ad-O
Guest
Bang on the money. Australia has a sanctimonious streak that I'm not comfortable with at all. It's not just in swimming either.