The bitter stoush between Australia's Mack Horton and controversial Chinese star Sun Yang isn't going away any time soon, with the rivals to feature in Tuesday's 800m freestyle at the world swimming titles in South Korea.
The fallout over Olympic champion Horton's 400m freestyle podium protest against Sun at Gwangju appears to have no end, with the Australian even receiving death threats on social media over his stance.
Yet it may only escalate when Horton and triple Olympic champion Sun contest the 800m freestyle heats on Tuesday.
Horton created an international furore when he did not shake hands with Sun and refused to join him on the podium after being relegated to 400m silver by the 10-time world champion on Sunday night.
Australian swimmer Mack Horton refuses to stand on the podium with China’s Yang Sun. Source: SIPA USA
The protest warranted world body FINA to issue an official warning to Horton and Swimming Australia late on Monday night.
Horton is not happy that Sun, who served a 2014 doping ban, has been allowed to compete ahead of a Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing in September that may end the Chinese star's career.
Sun has been accused of smashing vials of his blood with a hammer during a clash last year with testers.
He faces a lifetime ban if found guilty.
Horton made his displeasure known about Sun post-race but is yet to speak publicly about his podium protest that drew the ire of Chinese media and fans.
That looks set to change with Horton tipped to finally address the medal ceremony controversy after his 800m freestyle heat on Tuesday morning.
In the meantime, Horton has had to deal with a savage reaction to his anti-doping stance with Chinese media outlets slamming his protest and social media going into meltdown.
The China Daily led the country's chorus of disapproval, saying: "Horton's behaviour was not an insult to Chinese athletes, but an insult to himself."
Vile messages have also inundated Horton's Instagram page since Sun claimed the protest was disrespectful to China, with death threats directed at the Olympic champion, his family and even his girlfriend.
And the controversy doesn't look like going away with Swimming Australia CEO Leigh Russell standing by the 23-year-old.
"Swimming Australia respects the position Mack Horton took during the medal ceremony and understands his sense of frustration," she said in a statement.
Horton's father said his son was not taking aim at China with his protest.
"I think Mack, like so many in the sport, would just like consistency in the approach to the testing regime," he told 3AW radio.
"This is not about China. We have huge respect for China. This is about ensuring the systems and processes in the sport keep the sport clean."
Horton's feud with Sun erupted at the Rio Olympics when the Australian dismissed the Chinese star as a "drug cheat" before claiming a shock 400m gold.
