Fu Yuanhui (; born January 7, 1996) is a Chinese competitive swimmer who specializes in backstroke. She won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 100-meter backstroke.
Early life 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).“妈妈，这个小雨伞哭了”——傅园慧从小就是段子手 Retrieved 2016-10-05
Fu started swimming at the age of 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 或许就出自这里！ Retrieved 2017-01-06
Swimming career 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.
2013 World Championships 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 At the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, Fu won two gold medals in the 50 m and 100 m backstroke.
2015 World Championships
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.傅园慧:泳衣太紧胸都被勒平 出国主打肢体语言 Retrieved 2016-12-17
2016 Summer Olympics
At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Fu gained popularity and became a swimming icon nationwide.劳伦斯冠军奖揭晓 傅园慧获最受欢迎女运动员 Retrieved 2016-12-17
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. 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!" () became very popular catchwords.洪荒之力”成十大流行语之首 Retrieved 2016-12-17傅园慧红到国外了 英媒笑翻:她真太有趣了 Retrieved 2016-12-17
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.
2016 Asian Swimming Championships 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.Fu Yuanhui takes Asian Swimming Championship gold , GBTIMES BEIJING, 18. November 2016 Fu was very happy to show her medals on her Weibo.傅园慧首摘亚锦赛金牌 太激动:我少女心爆发了! Retrieved 2016-12-17
Personal life 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.傅园慧聊被孙杨抱 Retrieved 2016-12-17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 She was a guest of the 2017 CCTV New Year's Gala.
Personal bests (long course)
EventTimeMeetDateNote(s)50 m backstroke 27.11 2015 World Aquatics Championships August 6, 2015100 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