British medalist refuses to share podium with alleged drug cheat

British bronze medallist Duncan Scott refused to shake hands with Sun Yang on the podium on Tuesday after the
controversial Chinese swimmer’s victory at the world championships in Gwangju.

Sun is swimming under a cloud in Gwangju with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) set to hear a doping case against him in September.

He won in the 200 metres freestyle after Lithuanian Danas Rapsys was disqualified for a false start.

Scott then congratulated silver medallist Katsuhiro Matsumoto of Japan and Russian Martin Malyutin, who
finished in the same time as the Briton, but completely blanked Sun on the podium.

The Chinese swimmer reacted angrily, shouting and gesturing at Scott.

Scott also refused to take part in a group photo on the podium and kept his distance from Sun as they left the
stage.

The incident comes two days after Australian Mack Horton refused to share the podium with Sun after the 400
metres.

Sun served a doping ban in 2014 and was labelled a “drug cheat” by Horton before the Rio Olympics final.

He got the green light to compete in Gwangju after being cleared by a FINA panel of breaching the governing body’s rules earlier this year.

However, the World Anti-Doping Agency is seeking to overturn the decision at CAS, leaving Sun’s career hanging in the balance a year out from the Tokyo Olympics.

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“So, it’s completely fair that whatever is going on behind the scenes now is obviously not going right because if the fans aren’t wanting him (Sun) I don’t even know why he’s here.”(Reuters/NAN)