Dating back to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Australian Mack Horton has been very vocal advocating for clean sport, and has publicly let his disdain be known regarding Sun Yang and how he was able to continue competing despite multiple doping controversies.

At the end of February, Sun received an eight-year period of ineligibility for having tampered with the doping control process.

But, since 2016, when Horton called Sun a “drug cheat”, his family has been under “virtual siege” from Sun supporters at their home in suburban Melbourne. Things have only escalated since the 2019 World Championships, where Horton opted not to stand alongside Sun on the podium of the men’s 400 freestyle.

Speaking to The Weekend Australian Magazine, Mack’s parents, Andrew and Cheryl, shared the story of what’s been going on the last four years, including their house being broken into with threats aimed towards their youngest son, Chad. The computer system at Andrew’s firm was hacked, resulting in death threats and online abuse.

Per the article, Sun supporters, most believed to be on student visas, “Regularly bang pots and pans late at night in the alley behind the back fence and abuse the family from the driveway.” They’ve also had plants poisoned, dog feces thrown over the fence, and Andrew regularly receives calls with threats towards a non-existent daughter.

After last summer’s Worlds in Gwangju, Cheryl found “a bucket load” of broken glass at the bottom of the pool when cleaning it.

The situation is believed to be part of a systematic pattern of harassment and intimidation directed at perceived critics of China. “This is not an amateur operation,” said a nationa­l security analyst who decline­s to be named. “The Hortons’ story is very disturbing … It says something about the reach of foreign powers within Australia.”

Andrew Horton receives regular national security briefings. It was at these meetings that he was told that 24 hours after Mack’s comments in Rio, they received nine million messages, and “none of them were pleasant.” He also learned that after the podium snub, it was the lead on 6000 global media outlets.

Mack, a 23-year-old who already has one Olympic gold medal and five World Championship medals to his name, has been more worried about his family situation rather than any abuse he’s received.

“My primary concern has been my family,” he says. “To be honest, initially I wasn’t aware of a lot of what was going on as my parents tried to protect me. To see and hear the impact it has had on those I love most has been the most upsetti­ng part.”

Horton and his family now wait to see if Sun will appeal his eight-year sentence like he said he would. The Swiss Federal Tribunal, who would be the recipients of the appeal, had suspended most judicial work until April 19.

“To date, CAS has not been advised that an appeal has been filed,” a spokesperson told The Weekend Australian.