Fu Yuanhui

Fu Yuanhui (Chinese: 傅园慧; pinyin: Fù Yuánhuì; born January 7, 1996) is a Chinese competitive female swimmer who specializes backstroke.

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

Fu started swimming at the age of 5.

2012 Summer Olympics

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

2015 World Championships

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.

2016 Summer Olympics

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

Fu won a bronze medal in the 100 metre backstroke, by tying for third place with Kylie Masse. Following this medal, her cheerful interviews and goofy demeanor made her very popular. 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'. Her series of facial expressions spread widely in the Internet, and her sayings such as "I've already spent my supernatural energy!"（Chinese: 我已使出了洪荒之力！）become very popular catchwords.

A few days later, after her lackluster performance in the 4 × 100 m medley relay, 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.

2016 Asian Swimming Championships

At the 2016 Asian Swimming Championships, 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. Fu was very happy to show her medals on her Weibo.

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.

She was a guest of the 2017 CCTV New Year's Gala.