Mack Horton has claimed the first gold medal for the Australia Olympic team with a stunning 400m freestyle victory on Sunday.
The 20-year-old Victorian, competing in his debut Olympics, swam a personal best time of 3:41.55 to hold off defending champion Sun Yang.
“What just happened. That is insane. 0.1 of a PB. You swim to win and that is what I did and it all worked out,” Horton told Channel 7 immediately after the race. “I kept telling myself that I had this and I was in control and I could do it. I had my eye on everybody on the outside. “Going into like the third 100 or so he (Sun Yang) was a little bit behind and I knew if I picked up and got in front of him I could stay on top to the end.”
After narrowly missing qualification for London in 2012, Horton became the first Australian to win the title since Ian Thorpe in 2004.
Meanwhile, less than an hour earlier, Travis Mahoney finished seventh in his first Olympic final in the 400m Individual Medley.
Picture: Phil Hillyard
