Aussie Olympics star Mack Horton reveals how criminals targeted his family when he made famous protest over Chinese rival's alleged drug use

Aussie Olympic gold medallist Mack Horton has revealed his family was repeatedly targeted by criminals following his infamous protest against rival Sun Yang in 2019.

Horton, 29, came under fire and generated world headlines after refusing to stand alongside the Chinese swimmer on the podium at the world championships in South Korea.

Sun narrowly beat Olympic champion Horton to claim his fourth-straight 400m freestyle world title at the time – but the Melbourne-born star was adamant the fellow distance swimmer was a 'drug cheat', and said so ahead of the Rio Olympics.

Horton and his partner Ella Walter were inundated with vile abuse and death threats following his protest six years ago - and to this day, the gold medal winner in the 400m at the 2016 Rio Games remains on edge.

Speaking on the Dos and D podcast, Horton confirmed the chaos that followed in 2019.

'Our house (in Australia) was broken into while we were still overseas (in South Korea),' he said.

'Shards of glass and bits of concrete were put in the backyard pool...my family is still copping it.

'I'm still followed sometimes... and recently I took my family to the market and people were taking photos of us... and being really obvious about it.

'I've learnt to become intentionally sheltered by it, it has been six years.'

Following his bold protest in South Korea, seething Chinese swimming fans took to social media to bombard Horton with abuse, which they also levelled at his now wife.

'You will both die from an accident, you are welcome,' one angry user wrote.

'I'll break your tombstone and dance on your grave,' another said.

'Your whole family is dead,' a third posted.

Sun has been a controversial figure in the sport since serving a secret three-month doping ban in 2014 after testing positive for trimetazidine.

He was then suspended by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in 2020 for refusing to provide samples for testers who had visited his home two years earlier for an out-of-competition test.

Sun and his team said the testers lacked proper accreditation and refused to co-operate with them.

According to the testing team, a member of Sun’s entourage smashed a vial of his blood with a hammer to prevent them from leaving with the sample.

He was given an eight-year ban, which was later reduced to four years and three months on appeal.

The three-time gold medallist at the London Olympics is targeting a shock return at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles - but given he is 33, it is unlikely.