Sun Yang wins the men's 200m freestyle gold medal at the Rio Olympics, Aug. 8, 2016. (Photo/Chinanews.com)
China's Sun Yang delivered a stunning riposte to his critics on Monday by winning the men's 200m freestyle gold medal at the Rio Olympics. [Special coverage]
Sun secured the 200m freestyle title by finishing the final in 1 minute 44.65 seconds, 0.55sec ahead of South Africa's Chad le Clos with the U.S.A's Conor Dwyer 0.58sec further back.
The 24-year-old has been at the center of a media storm in recent days, having been labelled a "drug cheat" by his Australian rival Mack Horton.
The Chinese swimming team responded by demanding an apology for Horton's "malicious personal attack" on the country's swimmers.
Sun, who won gold in the 400m freestyle and 1500m freestyle at the London 2012 Olympics, served a three-month ban in 2014 after testing positive to a banned substance. He said he unwittingly took the drug as part of treatment for a chronic heart problem.
If Horton's comments were not enough to worry about, Sun was also facing questions about his form. He was beaten by Horton in Saturday's 400m freestyle final, a race the Chinese swimmer was widely expected to win.
But any doubts about whether Sun could still be a dominant force in the pool were erased in emphatic fashion at Rio's Olympic Aquatics Centre on Monday.
Sun, who won silver in the same event at the London 2012 Games, could not hide his delight after the race, raising his arms in triumph in the pool. Afterwards he tossed his cap into the crowd, which gave him loud and sustained applause.
As far as the tradition of U.S.A with a rivalry with Australia and China, it goes back many years and has very strong roots.
"It's always fun to get up and race the best guys in the world, and Sun will go down as one of the greatest freestyles of all time and it's an honor to get to race him in the 200 and 400 free," said U.S. swimmer Conor Dwyer, who won the 200m freestyle bronze medal.
Sun will be the favorite to defend his 1500m Olympic crown on Saturday.
