Scott Davis
Usually, in medal races, swimmers know where they placed almost
immedaitely.
If it wasn't clear when they touched — as in the cases of Katie Ledecky or Michael Phelps — swimmers pop out of the water, look at the big board, see their times, and know where they finished.
However, on Monday, in the women's 100-meter backstroke final, 20-year-old Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui must have misread the scoreboard.
After finishing with a bronze medal, she was completely unaware of where she finished during an interview with a Chinese news station. After joking about her arms being too short to win silver and expending all of her energy in prior days, she began to say "What I want to share is that even though I didn't win a medal..." before the interviewer cut her off to inform her of her success.
The exchange was priceless:
YouTube/What's on
Weibo
YouTube/What's on
Weibo
When the interviewer clarified that Fu won bronze, Fu had a fantastic reaction.
YouTube/What's on
Weibo
YouTube/What's on
Weibo
As the New York Times' Austin Ramzy explained, this is typical Fu, who is becoming a Chinese sensation. In a country known for buttoned-up, straight-faced athletes who value first place above all else, Fu is an exception.
As can be seen here, she was delighted by any medal. She will swim Saturday in the 4x100m medley relay, and we can only hope she medals to see more reactions like this.
If it wasn't clear when they touched — as in the cases of Katie Ledecky or Michael Phelps — swimmers pop out of the water, look at the big board, see their times, and know where they finished.
However, on Monday, in the women's 100-meter backstroke final, 20-year-old Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui must have misread the scoreboard.
After finishing with a bronze medal, she was completely unaware of where she finished during an interview with a Chinese news station. After joking about her arms being too short to win silver and expending all of her energy in prior days, she began to say "What I want to share is that even though I didn't win a medal..." before the interviewer cut her off to inform her of her success.
The exchange was priceless:
YouTube/What's on
Weibo
YouTube/What's on
Weibo
When the interviewer clarified that Fu won bronze, Fu had a fantastic reaction.
YouTube/What's on
Weibo
YouTube/What's on
Weibo
As the New York Times' Austin Ramzy explained, this is typical Fu, who is becoming a Chinese sensation. In a country known for buttoned-up, straight-faced athletes who value first place above all else, Fu is an exception.
As can be seen here, she was delighted by any medal. She will swim Saturday in the 4x100m medley relay, and we can only hope she medals to see more reactions like this.
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