A volatile Sun continued the verbal altercation as they left the pool but Scott kept his calm, smiled and continued walking. "I win, you lose": Gold medalist China's Sun Yang, right, gestures to Britain's bronze medalist Duncan Scott. Credit:Mark Schiefelbein/AP "I'm team Mack," said Scott, who was called a "loser" by Sun as the pair left the pool following the medal ceremony. "If [Sun] can't respect our sport then why should I respect him? I think a lot of people, everyone in swimming, got behind what Mack did." The International Swimming Federation, FINA, said it would send a "warning letter" to Scott and Sun over the incident.

"The FINA Executive met today in Gwangju (KOR) to analyse the situation [that] occurred during the men’s 200m free victory ceremony and has decided to send a warning letter to athletes Duncan Scott (GBR) and Sun Yang (CHN)," FINA said. "Both competitors had... inadequate behaviour on this occasion, which is not acceptable in accordance with the FINA Constitution Rule C 12.1.3." The protest was a clear show of solidarity for Horton's move on the first night of the championships, when he refused to share a podium with arch-rival Sun. He called Sun a "drug cheat" at the Rio Games, while Sun enters these titles under fresh scrutiny after a vial of his blood was smashed with a hammer before it could be tested. He was cleared by a FINA doping panel but WADA has appealed the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in September. A host of swimmers in Gwangju had spoken up in support of Horton but Scott was the first to put actions behind words.

British teammate Adam Peaty, who has lashed FINA already for their handling of the Sun matter, said he would have done the same thing. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video "[Scott] is completely right," Peaty said. "If people are booing [Sun], it’s for a reason. He should be asking himself now – should I really be in this sport when people are booing me? If I was swimming I wouldn’t even get on the podium for that matter". "I think the most important thing as a sports person is that you have a right to a voice and Duncan showed his voice tonight and so did the crowd." Sun was scheduled to hold a press conference but did not arrive after being taken to doping control for a regulation test.

Loading The drama overshadowed a pulsating race, with both Sun and Rapsys chasing hard over the first 100 metres as Australia's Clyde Lewis made it a genuine acid test going into the back half of the race. Lewis could not sustain the pace, sliding back to finish seventh in a time of 1:45.78 as Rapsys and Sun surged towards the wall. Rapsys was the man, bursting clear to stop the clock at 1:44.69, with Sun second in 1:44.93s. But his joy at winning the world title lasted just seconds. The big screen was quick to flash up the dreaded DQ next to his name. After taking out the 400m freestyle on night one, Sun would be getting another gold medal, much to the joy of his travelling pack of fans that drape signs with his name all over the arena.