Mack Horton has missed the chance to defend his 400m crown at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics after failing to make the cut at the Australian swimming trials.
Horton was the gold medallist in the 400m freestyle in the 2016 Olympics in Rio, but missed out on the cut after finishing third behind Elijah Winnington and Jack McLoughlin.
The 25-year-old swam a 3:43.92 but it wasn't enough to make it to Tokyo, with Winnington the quickest at 3:42.65.
While five Australian swimmers, including Horton, were under the Olympic qualifying time, only two can travel to Tokyo, meaning Horton misses out.
The 400m freestyle event is where Horton has forged a formidable rivalry with controversial Chinese swimmer Sun Yang over the last few years.
Sun took out the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London, but was stunned by Horton in an upset performance in Rio.
The Chinese star got his revenge over the Australian in the 2017 and 2019 FINA World Championships where he won the gold medal in the 400m freestyle both times, with Horton claiming the silver medal.
It was at the 2019 World Championships where Horton controversially refused to take to the podium alongside Sun after previously calling him a "drug cheat".
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