Ahead of Friday’s race with Mr. Horton, Mr. Sun spoke in an interview with Tencent Sports about a broader plot to discredit Chinese and Asian swimmers. !”The Chinese swimming team’s manager, Xu Qi, had already demanded that Mr. Horton apologize for his “malicious” statement. For his part, Mr. Horton may also be driven forward by nonaquatic issues, notably a hatred of doping, wrote Chip Le Grand of the newspaper The Australian. PhotoBEIJING — When Sun Yang of China and Mack Horton of Australia dive into the pool together in the men’s 1,500-meter freestyle qualifying heat in the Rio Games on Friday, contentious issues will go with them: doping, hurt feelings and perhaps even international relations. To understand the furor that began as a spat in a swimming pool, rewind to last weekend when Mr. Horton called Mr. Sun a “drug cheat” before beating him in the men’s 400-meter freestyle and winning a gold medal.

Source: International New York Times August 11, 2016 14:37 UTC