Mack Horton breaks silence: Responds to tricky question
Australian swimming champion Mack Horton has made an explosive claim as he revealed that swimming is full of drug cheats, as he spoke for the first time since his podium protest again Sun Yang.
The 23-year-old appeared on Channel 7’s Sunday Night as he discussed the reasoning behind his protest and the positive drug test of fellow Australian Dolphins team member Shayna Jack.
Horton has been vocal about drugs in sport for a long time, and when asked about how dirty the sport is behind-the-scenes, he made a bombshell allegation.
“We don’t know how many athletes; how many swimmers aren’t clean. I don’t think there’s any point in speculating but yeah, a lot,” he said.
Next on @SundayNightOn7 - our world exclusive with #swimmer @_MackHorton on drugs, rivalry and the doping scandal that's rocked the #Aussie team. That's coming up on @Channel7. pic.twitter.com/2Z065vhbl7
— Sunday Night (@SundayNightOn7) August 4, 2019
But despite the in-built rage, many accused the young athlete of hypocrisy after Jack’s test came out positive.
The claims come after Horton refused to take the stand with Yang after the 400m freestyle final.
The Chinese swimmer took home the gold after beating Horton by 0.73 seconds, but after the Aussie took part in a silent protest, a debate ensued around the world.
Horton slammed accusations of hypocrisy against Aussies after Jack’s test results came to light.
“We are not hypocrites. We are enforcing what we are standing for and I think Australia is definitely standing for clean sport,” he told Sunday Night host Melissa Doyle.
“No one was really sure what to think or feel, I think, at the time and, you know, we still had another finals session ahead of us, we still had another day of competition.
“I think the difference being as soon as she returns a positive sample, she’s returned to Australia, she’s not competing at a World Championships and that gives me faith in the Australian system and that Australians demand clean sport. We won’t let our own athletes get away with it and because we won’t let our own athletes get away with it, we can question and demand more from the rest of the world.”