Fu Yuanhui (Chinese: 傅园慧; pinyin: Fù Yuánhuì; born January 7, 1996) is a Chinese competitive swimmer who specializes in backstroke.[3] She won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 100-meter backstroke.

Fu Yuanhui
Fu Yuanhui in 2015 Kazan
Personal information
Full name傅园慧
NicknameHonghuang Girl (洪荒少女)[1]
National team China
Born (1996-01-07) January 7, 1996 (age 28)
Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight67 kg (148 lb)[2]
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBackstroke
ClubZhejiang Swimming Team
Medal record
Women's swimming
Representing China
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Summer Olympics 0 0 1
World Championships (LC) 2 2 0
World Championships (SC) 0 2 0
Asian Games 2 1 0
Total 4 5 1
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 100 m backstroke
World Championships (LC)
Gold medal – first place 2015 Kazan 50 m backstroke
Gold medal – first place 2015 Kazan 4×100 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2013 Barcelona 50 m backstroke
Silver medal – second place 2017 Budapest 50 m backstroke
World Championships (SC)
Silver medal – second place 2018 Hangzhou 4×50 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2018 Hangzhou 4×100 m medley
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Incheon 50 m backstroke
Gold medal – first place 2014 Incheon 100 m backstroke
Silver medal – second place 2018 Jakarta 50 m backstroke

Early life

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On January 7, 1996, Fu was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. She is the only daughter to her parents Fu Chunsheng (傅春昇) and Shen Ying (沈英).[4]

Fu started swimming at the age of 5.[5] [6]

Swimming career

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2012 Summer Olympics

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At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, she competed in the Women's 100 metre backstroke, finishing in 8th place in the final.

2013 World Championships

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At the 2013 World Aquatics Championship in Barcelona, Fu placed second in the 50 metre backstroke, losing to her teammate Zhao Jing with a time of 27.39s.

2014 Asian Games

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At the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, Fu won two gold medals in the 50 m and 100 m backstroke.

2015 World Championships

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Fu Yuanhui, left on top step, victory ceremony 4 × 100 m medley relay (2015)

She won the 50 metre backstroke at the World Aquatics Championship in 2015 and helped China win the 4x100 metre medley. In the interview, Fu complained her swimsuit was too tight.[7]

2016 Summer Olympics

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At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Fu gained popularity and became a swimming icon nationwide.[8]

Fu won a bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke by tying for third place with Canadian swimmer Kylie Masse. She finished in a national record time of 58.76. Throughout the Olympics, her cheerful interviews and goofy demeanor made her very popular.[9][10] Mark Dreyer, a Beijing-based sports writer, noted that Fu exemplified "a positive trend in Chinese sports whereby athletics was undergoing a transition away from "manufactured Olympic champions" from the state-run sports system who were effective at bringing home medals but had cardboard personalities and inspired little devotion among fans'.[11] Her series of facial expressions spread widely in the Internet, and her sayings such as "I've already spent my supernatural energy!" (我已使出了洪荒之力!) became very popular catchwords.[12][13]

A few days later, after her lackluster performance in the 4×100-meter medley relay where the team placed fourth, she told an interviewer that she was on her period; many commended her decision to speak about this, menstruation being considered a taboo topic in sports.[14][15]

2016 Asian Swimming Championships

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At the 2016 Asian Swimming Championships in Tokyo, Fu won gold medals for the first time. She won two gold medals in the 50 m and 100 m backstroke and a silver medal in the 4 × 100 m medley relay.[16] Fu was very happy to show her medals on her Weibo.[17]

Personal life

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Since 2016, Fu has been one of the most popular athletes in China. She takes part in some TV talk shows and charity activities. Fu also makes friends with many other swimmers such as Sun Yang and Ye Shiwen.[18][19][20] She was a guest of the 2017 CCTV New Year's Gala.[21]

Personal bests (long course)

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As of July 20, 2017
Event Time Meet Date Note(s)
50 m backstroke 27.11 2015 World Aquatics Championships August 6, 2015
100 m backstroke 58.72 2017 Chinese National Championships April 12, 2017 NR
200 m backstroke 2.08.84 2015 BHP Super Series January 30, 2015

Notes and references

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  1. ^ 奥运“网红”傅园慧:“洪荒之力”的段子手 Retrieved 2016-10-05
  2. ^ "Yuanhui Fu". Rio 2016 Organization. Archived from the original on August 25, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  3. ^ "Yuanhui Fu". 2012 Summer Olympics. Archived from the original on 26 April 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  4. ^ “妈妈,这个小雨伞哭了”——傅园慧从小就是段子手 Retrieved 2016-10-05
  5. ^ 傅园慧谈为啥学游泳:小时候锻炼身体游着游着就游到现在 Retrieved 2016-12-17
  6. ^ 或许就出自这里![permanent dead link] Retrieved 2017-01-06
  7. ^ 傅园慧:泳衣太紧胸都被勒平 出国主打肢体语言 Retrieved 2016-12-17
  8. ^ 劳伦斯冠军奖揭晓 傅园慧获最受欢迎女运动员 Retrieved 2016-12-17
  9. ^ Leavenworth, Stuart (August 9, 2016). "Fu Yuanhui: China falls in love with Olympic swimmer and her 'mystic energy'". The Guardian. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  10. ^ Strachan, Maxwell (9 August 2016). "Meet Fu Yuanhui, The Most Lovable Athlete At The Rio Olympics". HuffPost.
  11. ^ Phillips, Tom (16 August 2016). "Great fall of China: Beijing's Olympians fail to reach highs of previous Games". TheGuardian.com.
  12. ^ 洪荒之力”成十大流行语之首 Retrieved 2016-12-17
  13. ^ 傅园慧红到国外了 英媒笑翻:她真太有趣了 Retrieved 2016-12-17
  14. ^ Graham, Chris (16 August 2016). "China's Fu Yuanhui breaks taboo by admitting she was on her period". The Telegraph.
  15. ^ Cheung, Helier (15 August 2016). "Rio 2016: Support as China's Fu Yuanhui breaks period taboo". BBC News.
  16. ^ Fu Yuanhui takes Asian Swimming Championship gold Archived 2016-12-09 at the Wayback Machine, GBTIMES BEIJING, 18. November 2016
  17. ^ 傅园慧首摘亚锦赛金牌 太激动:我少女心爆发了! Retrieved 2016-12-17
  18. ^ 傅园慧聊被孙杨抱 Archived 2016-12-20 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2016-12-17
  19. ^ 傅园慧自曝看厌宁泽涛摸腻孙杨:腹肌胸肌都差不多 Retrieved 2016-12-17
  20. ^ 镜头外的傅园慧:和叶诗文是闺蜜 比采访中更有趣 Retrieved 2017-01-06
  21. ^ "CCTV Spring Festival Gala 2017: Former EXO members Lu Han and Wu Yifan to set the stage on fire?". IB Times. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.