The highly-anticipated showdown between Sun Yang and Mack Horton in the men’s 1500m final will have to wait for another day after the Chinese swimmer, who was struggling with illness, failed to progress from his heat.
The world record holder Sun, who was earlier in these Games branded a “drug cheat” by Horton, will not defend the crown he won four years ago, after finishing 16th overall in qualifying.
Horton eased through the same race and dismissed the importance of Sun’s premature exit. “It doesn’t really matter if he is there or not to be honest,” the Australian 400m gold medal winner said.
Sun said he fell ill following his gold medal-winning swim in the 200m, and his malaise showed on Friday when he could only manage a time that was more than half a minute off the benchmark he set in London.
The reigning Olympic champion had boasted this week that he was the “king of 1500m”, but he admitted his efforts in bouncing back from the disappointment of losing out to Horton in the 400m had taken their toll in the 200m.
“I was quite sick right after the 200m. I then took six antibiotic pills every day and that made a difference,” Sun said.
“I didn’t think my body condition had declined quite so much after the 200m but I had swum one minute, 44 seconds for the 200, something I’d never done before, and that was really intense. I think it influenced my body condition too.”
Sun added that he had not been helped by the effects of jetlag since arriving in Rio.
“I basically haven’t had any personal time – eating, training and doing physical therapy before Rio. I spent at least two hours every night and even here in Rio, I was being treated to two or three in the morning,” he said.
“It’s been really hard for me to fall asleep every night. After spending time in the US, and then coming to Brazil, my whole biological body clock has been messed up.
“Often when it’s three or four in the morning, I’ve been wide awake staring at the ceiling.”
Sun will leave the Games with one gold and one silver medal and a mixed bag of emotions. “I’m a bit happy and a bit sad and there are lots of things I can reflect upon later,” he said.
Sun said his gold medal in the 200m was a “major breakthrough” and his happiest moment at the Games, but said he “didn’t control” his rhythm properly in the 400m and was disappointed with the silver medal.
“The gold medal in the 200 is a really major breakthrough for me. I’ve been spending four years in second position in the 200 so winning the 200 here is the happiest moment for me.
“I am going to try to improve these details in the future. I’m looking forward to more breakthroughs in future Games,” he said
Sun did not address Horton’s comments or the ensuing outrage in China, that included the Communist Party mouthpiece The People’s Daily referring to Australia as “a country at the fringes of civilisation”.
