Le Clos: I want my Olympic gold back!

Chad le Clos has entered the fray as the fallout from the bust-up between China’s Sun Yang and Briton Duncan Scott continued to swirl at the world championships in Gwangju.

South Africa’s decorated swimmer expressed his support for Scott, who refused to shake hands with Sun on the podium or pose for photos Tuesday after taking bronze behind the Chinese giant in the 200m final.

Scott’s run-in with Sun followed Australian Mack Horton’s podium snub after losing to Sun in the 400m at the weekend.

Sun – branded a “drug cheat” by Horton at the 2016 Rio Olympics over a prior ban – accused the Australian of “disrespecting China” and he reacted furiously to Scott’s snub on Tuesday.

The swimmers were protesting after a leaked FINA doping panel report claimed Sun had smashed vials of blood with a hammer after being visited by testers last year.

Sun has always maintained his three-month suspension in 2014 for a banned stimulant was an innocent mistake and the medication was for a heart condition, with Chinese officials believed to have failed to update their therapeutic use exemption list.

Sun was cleared by FINA to compete, prompting World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to appeal to the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport, which is set to hear the case in September.

Clearly irked, Le Clos – who finished second behind Sun in the 2016 Olympics’ 200m final – made a bold demand.

“I want my gold medal back from Rio. It shouldn’t be allowed to have people cheating in sports,” he said.

“It’s good that people are taking a stand.  James Guy (who finished fourth in Rio) should get his bronze, because it shouldn’t be allowed to have people cheating in sport.”

Le Clos also repeated his sentiments on social media.

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