BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) – China’s Sun Yang got a bit of payback for his Olympic defeat by pulling away for a dominating win Sunday over rival Mack Horton of Australia in the men’s 400-meter freestyle, the first swimming final of the world championships.
Yang steadily pulled away from a stacked field that featured the past three Olympic champions in the event: Horton (2016), Sun (2012) and South Korea’s Park Tae-hwan (2008).
The Chinese star finished more than two body lengths ahead of the field, touching the wall in 3 minutes, 41.38 seconds. Horton settled for the silver, far back at 3:43.85, while Park finished fourth behind bronze medalist Gabriele Detti of Italy.
Last summer in Rio de Janeiro, Horton defeated Sun in the 400 free final after calling him a “drug cheat” for his three-month doping suspension in 2014.