Sun Yang made history on Monday by becoming the first Chinese swimmer to claim a gold medal in the Olympic men's 200 meters freestyle event.

Yang's victory is seen as an emphatic response to an ongoing controversy about his doping history. The controversy was created following Mack Horton's "dope cheat" comment about Sun.

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On Monday, Yang touched the wall in one minute, 44.65 seconds, beating South Africa's silver medalist Chad Le Clos by 0.55 seconds. The bronze medal went to Conor Dwyer of the United States.       

To celebrate his stunning victory, Yang attempted to throw his swimming cap to Chinese supporters in the stadium, but it landed back into the pool.  

When asked about how it feels to win following last week's doping controversy, Yang said: "First of all, today we are competing in 200m and so during this competition I only focus on myself and I didn't really focus on anything else."

Monday's gold medal was Yang's second medal at the Rio Olympics and the sixth overall medal in his Olympic career. Sun won a silver medal in the 400m freestyle swimming event last week.            

The Doping Controversy  

After winning a gold medal in the 400m freestyle swimming event, Mack Horton said that he had problems with athletes who have tested positive but were still allowed to compete.

Horton's comment was about Yang's doping history. Yang served a three-month ban in 2014 after testing positive for a banned substance.

However, China immediately came to Yang's defense. In an official statement, China demanded an apology from Mack Horton, describing his comment about Sun as a "malicious personal attack."    

Yang also took a swipe at Horton's comment. "In 1,500m I am the king," Yang told Channel 7 when asked if he could defeat Horton in the event.

TagsSun Yang, Rio Olympics, china, China at Rio Olympics