Opinion | Bad blood as China’s Sun Yang drowns international swimming in negative headlines

What appeared to be an isolated incident, a feud between two swimmers – Australia’s Mack Horton and China’s Sun Yang – has now turned into something much more salivating for the media. Swimming is grabbing international headlines, but for all the wrong reasons, which couldn’t come at a worse time for the sport.

Horton first called out Sun after the Chinese swimmer served a three-month ban in 2014 and then the Aussie upset him at Rio. The essence of Horton’s argument is pretty clear: once a cheat, always a cheat.

Scott’s actions on Tuesday night, in which the bronze medallist refused to shake hands and got an earful from Sun afterwards, paint a picture about where the swimming community stands on the Chinese star. Sun will still face a challenge from the World Anti-Doping Agency, which is appealing Fina’s finding in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but the social verdict from his peers and counterparts has already been delivered: every time Sun gets into the pool he taints the water.

Regardless of where you fall when it comes to athletes who have tested positive for banned substances, served their suspensions and returned to competition, it appears Horton is not an outlier. Sun, being a Chinese mega star, pulls a lot of weight and has the weight of a hefty nation behind him. China is important to the world of swimming as it regularly hosts dozens of lavishly organised swim meets a year and Fina is now between a rock and a hard place.

At the 2004 Athens Olympics, swimming became a hot ticket as two superstars — Michael Phelps and Australian Ian Thorpe — dominated the headlines. With the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing in their sights, these two captured the hearts and minds of Chinese fans, and the seed was planted. China wanted stars of its own to fawn over and the result is swimmers like Sun, but what is coming into question is the validity of his prowess in the pool.