Sun Yang backlash: Chinese fans turn on their hero and apologise to ‘hated’ Aussie Mack Horton

Social media users ‘spray’ Sun after widespread publication of the Court of Arbitration for Sport report

Report lists a variety of indiscretions against the swimmer and his support team, including witness tampering and a refusal to admit contrition

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Gold medal winner Mack Horton with Sun Yang and Gabriele Detti of Italy after the men's 400m freestyle final at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Photo: EPA

Published: 10:47am, 6 Mar 2020Updated: 10:13pm, 6 Mar 2020

The tide appears to have turned on triple Olympic champion Sun Yang as social media users have begun to apologise to his great rival, Mack Horton, after the widespread publication of the Court of Arbitration for Sport report.

Horton, who has been feuding with Sun since 2014 over the China star’s drugs ban, has long been the target of Chinese swim fans as they defended their hero.

However, that has changed since the publication of the 78-page CAS report of its findings from the World Anti-Doping Agency’s appeal against Sun and swimming governing body Fina.

The report listed a variety of indiscretions against the swimmer and his support team, including witness tampering and a refusal to admit contrition, over the out-of-competition test at his home in September, 2018, that ended with Sun assisting his security guard in smashing a blood sample vial with a hammer.

Sun Yang on top of the podium after beating Mack Horton to gold in the men’s 400m freestyle at the 2019 world championships in Gwangju, South Korea. Photo: AFP

Since the report was published on the CAS website on Wednesday, it has been widely reported in Chinese and support for the swimmer has diminished.

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