Justice for Mack Horton as Chinese swimming rival Sun Yang is found GUILTY of being a drug cheat and is banned for eight years
Chinese swimmer Sun Yang has been banned for eight years for breaking anti-doping rules after a vial of his blood was smashed with a hammer.
The three-time Olympic champion was found guilty of refusing to cooperate with sample collectors during a visit to his home in September 2018.
The 28-year-old will be unable to defend his 200-metre freestyle title at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) handed down their decision on Friday.
Chinese swimmer Sun Yang (centre) has been banned for eight years for breaking anti-doping rules after a vial of his blood was smashed with a hammer
During the November hearing, evidence was presented that a security guard was instructed to smash a vial of blood by Sun’s mother.
Arguably China’s most famous athlete, Sun was convicted of doping in 2014 and served a three-month ban after testing positive to a banned stimulant.
Australian swimmer Mack Horton famously protested against the drug cheat at the world championships in South Korea in July 2019.
He was frustrated that Sun was able to compete despite fresh cheating allegations.
Sun narrowly beat Horton to claim his fourth-straight 400m freestyle world title.
Horton accepted his silver medal but did not stand on the podium alongside Sun as the Chinese national anthem played – nor did he pose for photographs with his rival.
The pair’s long-standing feud began ahead of the Rio Olympics in 2016 when Horton labelled the Chinese swimmer a ‘drug cheat’.
Ahead of Friday’s decision Australian swimming head coach Jacco Verhaeren said the verdict would not distract his team.
‘Mack is a very focused athlete, he’s not easily distracted and he won’t be distracted by this either,’ Verhaeren said on Friday.
‘He has dealt with situations like this before and never gets distracted so he won’t be in this case.
‘He made his stance. His stance won’t change and that is fine.
‘But we’re not in the business of commenting on foreign athletes or whatever the outcome is.’
More to come
Australian swimmer Mack Horton (pictured with his partner Ella Walter) famously protested against the drug cheat at the world championships in South Korea in July 2019