Rio 2016: AOC defends Horton's right to call Chinese rival a 'drug cheat'

Mack Horton won Australia's first gold medal at Rio, but his post-race comments defending calling rival Sun Yang a 'drug cheat' has made him a target of Chinese fans.

Australia's Mack Horton bites his gold medal on the podium of the Men's 400m Freestyle Final during the swimming event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. (Getty Im Source: Getty Images

The AOC has defended Australian gold medal winner Mack Horton's right to call his 400m freestyle rival, China's Sun Yang, a 'drug cheat'.

The Chinese swimming team are demanding an apology from the Australian, calling his comments a "malicious personal attack".

Tensions between the two Olympians came to a head before the final, when Sun splashed Horton during a training session.

Horton told media that he did not respond to Sun's 'greeting', "because I don't have time for drug cheats".

After Horton emerged from the pool as Australia's first gold medal winner at the Rio Olympic Games, he said he was in part spurred on by not wanting someone with a questionable record to beat him.

"The last 50 metres I was thinking about what I said and what would happen if he gets me here."

In 2014, Sun was suspended for three months for testing positive to banned medication. He declared it was heart medication and that it did not improve his performance.

"I used the words drug cheat because he tested positive," Horton said.

"I just have a problem with athletes who have tested positive and are still competing."

While Sun defended his record saying "I've done everything it takes to prove I'm clean", Chinese fans have attacked Horton online using the twitter hashtag #apologizetosunyan and comments posted on his social media accounts, which have since been removed.

Footage of Sun crying and inconsolable in front of Chinese media after the race was shared widely online.

However, the Australian Olympic Committee have defended their athlete in the furore.

"Mack is entitled to express a point of view," a spokesperson for the AOC said in a statement.

"Under the Team Values ASPIRE the E stands for express yourself, that is his right. He has spoken out in support of clean athletes. This is something he feels strongly about and good luck to him."

The Chinese swimming team disagrees. It is demanding an apology saying it is "proof of a lack of good manners and upbringing".

"We think his inappropriate words greatly hurt the feelings between Chinese and Australian swimmers," state news agency Xinhua reported Chinese swim team manager Xu Qi as saying.

Horton's behaviour has also been strongly criticised in a piece in Chinese newspaper The Global Times.

"He couldn't hold in his cynical smugness after beating Sun, and the Australian media recklessly spread Horton's rude speech."

The article took particular issue with the suggestion that Horton made his comments in order to psych out his opponent.

"If Horton won the competition by disrupting his rival in an immoral way, his win is disgraceful, and not in line with the spirit of the Olympics. While challenging another's morality, Horton didn't act morally."

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