At this year's Fina World Championships, China's Sun Yang won the gold medal for 200 freestyle on Tuesday. However, Sun got the gold in one of the most extraordinary ways, and the event went downhill from that point.
Initially, Sun finished second. However, he was elevated to the first position after Lithuania's Danas Rapsys was called for a false start and was disqualified. During the medal ceremony, it appeared as if bronze-medalist Duncan Scott from Great Britain would not shake Sun's hand. Scott tied for the bronze medal. Following this somewhat awkward moment, Sun waved to Scott and smiled while leaving the podium.
In a statement, Sun said, "Our plan has been about paying attention to the pace and it was not easy winning this. I did my best to finish the race. I have to thank the [Chinese] crowd for supporting me again. Our training and persistence are paying off. I have been persistent and I kept on training to get this result."
Sun posted the second-fastest qualifying time at the event. His time stands at 1 minute and 44.93 seconds. He is also an Olympic medal champion for the 200-meter freestyle. At this year's championship, he already earned his third straight medal and a second gold medal.
Sun has been one of the most controversial figures in swimming lately. He is slated to appear at the Court of Arbitration of Sport in September following the appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency protesting the decision to clear him from a separate doping incident.
Despite these setbacks, Sun continues to rack up gold and controversy. The Chinese swimmer won the 400-meter freestyle gold. During the medal ceremony, Australian swimmer Mack Horton did not join Sun on the podium. Horton was not part of the recently concluded controversial 200-meter freestyle, where won also won a gold medal.
Horton and Sun had a bitter rivalry. Sun won the 400-meter freestyle by just 0.73 seconds. Aside from not stepping up to the podium, Horton also refused to shake Sun's hand. Their rivalry dates back to the 2016 Summer Games in Brazil where Horton managed to snatch the gold medal for the 400-meter freestyle. Horton then commented that his victory against Sun was "one for the good guys."
Sun was one banned for three months by the Chinese Swimming Association over allegations of usage of banned substances.
