Sydney — The fierce opponent of China’s Sun Yang, Australian gold medallist Mack Horton, announced his retirement from international swimming on Sunday.
Six months out from the 2016 Rio Olympics, 27-year-old Horton claims he lacks the motivation to continue after winning gold in the 400-meter freestyle.
In a statement posted on Sunday by Swimming Australia, Horton stated, “I really wanted to swim in Paris but the hunger wasn’t there.” “This is the appropriate moment to move away because I always want to give my all and I’m not the type of person who just wants to make up the numbers.
“I am so grateful for my time in swimming and in regard to legacy, I hope my teammates and the sport think that I was able to help them and the sport in some way.”
Maybe more well-known for his support of clean sport than anything else, Horton has a reputation for calling rival Sun Yang a “drug cheat” at the Rio Olympics.
After Sun won the gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle world championship in Gwangju, South Korea in 2019, the Australian refused to share the podium with the Chinese swimmer. In an ironic repeat of the Australian’s gold medal in the 2016 Olympic final, Horton finished second with silver.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport banned Sun from international swimming in 2021 for four years and three months for refusing to provide a sample and interfering with a drug control.
Having missed out on making the Australian squad to defend his 400-meter Rio gold medal, Horton finished as a preliminary swimmer in the 4×200-meter freestyle at the Tokyo Games with a bronze.
In addition, he took home eight medals from the Commonwealth Games, four of which were gold, seven world championship medals, and four Pan Pacific championship medals.
