CHINA’S triple Olympic champion Sun Yang won the men’s 200m freestyle final, snatching his second gold medal at the 18th FINA World Championships yesterday.

Sun clocked 1:44.93 to touch home first in the final. He was followed by Katsuhiro Matsumoto of Japan, who took the silver medal in 1:45.22. Martin Malyutin of Russia and Duncan Scott of Britain tied for the bronze with a time of 1:45.63.

Dana Rapsys of Lithuania completed the course first, but was disqualified.

It was the second gold medal for Sun in Gwangju after the Chinese swimming star claimed his fourth consecutive world title in the men’s 400m freestyle Sunday.

Meanwhile, world swimming governing body FINA has sent a warning letter to Swimming Australia over Mack Horton’s silent protest against the presence of Sun Yang. Sun retained the world title in Gwangju on Sunday, with Olympic champion Horton second and Italian Gabriele Detti third.

Horton then decided to make a stand against Sun’s presence at a championship while an anti-doping case against him is pending at the Court of Arbitration. A tentative September date has been set for a hearing into the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) March challenge to a FINA Doping Panel hearing into troubling events that unfolded at an out-of-competition test near Sun’s home last September.

Some swimmers have been very vocal in their view that the case should have been dealt with before action started in Gwangju, while the Court of Arbitration revealed to Swimming World last week that no parties to the case, neither Sun’s entourage, FINA nor WADA had requested an expedited process.

FINA issued the following statement yesterday:

“The FINA Executive met today in Gwangju to analyze the situation related with the men’s 400m free victory ceremony and has decided to send a warning letter to Swimming Australia Ltd. and to athlete Mack Horton (AUS).

“While FINA respects the principle of freedom of speech, it has to be conducted in the right context.”(SD-Xinhua)