Considering Mack Horton wet himself in the opening moments of SAS: Australia vs England, you would assume that was the most nervous he has ever been. But, according to the former Olympic swimmer, another moment absolutely takes the title.
“I was the most nervous I’ve ever been on my wedding day,” Mack, 29, tells TV WEEK. “Which doesn’t make sense because I was confident in the decision. I think my wife had felt all the emotions in the lead-up whereas I felt them all in one hit – when she walked down the aisle.”
Soon after getting married, Mack and wife Ella discovered they were expecting their first child. But the exciting milestone coincided with Mack heading overseas to film SAS in Morocco, North Africa.
“It was anxiety inducing,” he admits. “It was pretty early days and the show was locked in before we knew she was pregnant. It’s a new experience and you want to be there for everybody. I missed an appointment, so the first thing I did when I got out was check my phone and I got a photo of the updated ultrasound.”
Since filming wrapped, the 2016 Olympic gold medallist has welcomed son Gideon, who is now five months old.
“Parenting is chaos,” he says with a laugh. “It’s exhausting, but also rewarding. Going home, some people might have struggled going from such an extreme environment back into normal life. But, because I had something to look forward to, my focus instantly shifted from SAS to getting ready for the baby.”
Those shifting priorities are also what led Mack to step away from competitive swimming ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“I sat with the decision for eight months, still swimming a couple of times a week,” he recalls. “I was 95 per cent in, but all my swimming experience told me that extra five per cent is what makes the difference.
“I could have potentially pushed through, but I probably would have ended up resenting swimming, which is not what I wanted.”
“But, when you step away, you realise there’s a lot more to life. I was getting to an age where getting married, having a baby… all those things were exciting me a lot more.”
Mack also reflects on one of the most controversial moments of his career: refusing to shake hands or stand on the podium with Chinese swimmer Sun Yang at the 2019 World Championships in protest over his doping controversy.
“The next day I had 750,000 hate comments on my Instagram,” he says. “I lost sponsors, people broke into the house – it was pretty intense.”
Despite the fallout, it is not a decision he ever regrets.
“Sometimes you think, ‘I shouldn’t have done that,’ but then I wouldn’t be who I am,” Mack explains. “I did it because I’m a person who believes strongly in the things I believe in and I’m willing to stand up for them. All those experiences that came after it helped shape who I am.”
On the show this week the recruits are pushed to their physical and mental limits as they drag 200kg of unwieldy kit over unforgiving terrain. But, amid the brutal challenge, Mack receives a special message from home.
“It reminded me there was an endpoint to this experience,” he says. “I just had to ride it out and do whatever it took to get there.”
SAS: Australia vs England airs Wednesday at 7.30pm on Channel Seven and 7Plus.
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