Mack Horton won the gold medal in the 400m Freestyle in Rio at the 2016 Olympics. But something even more valuable may have occurred that day for the 20-year-old swimmer. A fan who noticed a mole on Horton’s enormous chest sent an email to the Australian team doctor warning that the swimmer should have the mole examined. The alert may have saved his life.
Horton took the fan’s (and team doctor’s) advice. This week the swimmer thanked the anonymous fan on social media for the head’s up. Posing with a bandage where the mole had been removed, Horton gave a thumb’s up with a “shout out” to the fan, saying “good call. Very good call.” Horton was lauded for his efforts to use his own situation to raise awareness about skin examinations to catch melanoma and other afflictions.
