Feeling the fun

Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui marks the gradual shift of public fixation from medals to personal magnetism

Who would have thought the biggest Chinese star to emerge from the Rio Olympics was not one of the world's fastest or most competitive, but swimmer Fu Yuanhui.

In one fell swoop the 20-year-old destroyed that rigidly hallowed image of the Chinese athlete as the solemn embodiment of national hope and instead put fun back into sports.

And she did it without knowing it - just like she didn't know she had finished third in the semifinal of the women's 100-meter backstroke on Aug 8.

It was the video clip of Fu being interview after that race that gave full play to her unique brand of charm, a rarity among Chinese athletes.

At the start of the interview, she knew she had beaten her personal best, but not that she was tied for third place. Given China's traditional emphasis on gold medals, a shared bronze medal did not seem enough cause for celebration, but Fu's spontaneous jubilation at her achievement put a human face to the catchphrase "Be the best you can be."

The reporter seemed to prod her into an alley of cliched excuses, such as "I didn't sleep well last night" or "I've been suffering from a mysterious pain all week", hinting at a better performance in ideal circumstances.

But, no. Fu did not take it. She uttered something that has since turned into a nationwide meme, covered by international media and parsed by the translation community.

"I've been utilizing prehistoric powers," she said, as translated by China Central Television, the state broadcaster. The BBC stuck with this translation, while The Guardian used "mystic energy".

It was a colorful way of saying "I've done my best" or "played to my full potential".

But that would have removed the sizzle from the steak. As a rule of thumb, I would tone down purple prose in translation and get to the point as much as possible. But not this time; the hyperbole is such an essential part of her infectious persona that, if the word honghuang is not rendered more or less verbatim, it would have lost the raison d'etre for the moniker "honghuang girl".

The word, literally flood and wilderness, refers to time immemorial, so CCTV's "prehistoric" is not really wrong. But it could be misleading, because it could also mean outdated. Another word that conjures up the image of flood is antediluvian, which also carries the connotation of old-fashioned.

What Fu meant was, "I've been availing myself of all the strengths, forces and energy that I've been gathering since ancient times."

So, primeval or primordial seems to be a good trade-off between the mythological images of flooding and the distracting meaning of obsolescence.

Actually, "mystic energy" hits the right note because the current use of the Chinese term is from a Taoism-based TV drama of flying swords and age-defying fantasy.

Fu's verbal flight of fancy jibed perfectly with her facial expressions. Screen shots from that interview have triggered an outburst of imitations, through emojis and live performances.

While some people were uncomfortable with what they deemed to be a clownish act, most have embraced her as a symbol of "to thine own self be true".

The native of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, did not mean to entertain; she was simply being herself, steadfastly ignoring the implicit dictum of political correctness. For example, she described her training as "sometimes worse than death". Most would have stuck with an uplifting tone: "It was hard, but I persevered."

Such remarks might be inappropriate had they appeared two decades ago. Olympic athletes were - and still are - supposed to represent their country in more ways than one. Their personal feelings were irrelevant to the public. They were perceived as gold-hauling machines. If they failed that function, they would be thrown mud of the worst kind.

When Zhu Jianhua brought home only the bronze medal from the 1984 Olympics (after he had made three consecutive world records), the windows of his Shanghai home were smashed.

When star gymnast Li Ning failed to repeat his stellar performance in the 1988 Olympics, he was turned into a pariah. Some even suggested he should "go hang himself".

When Liu Xiang, China's biggest track star, had to pull out at the last minute during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, disappointment quickly turned into opprobrium. Some TV commentators suggested it would be more honorable for him to fall and die on the track.

These are some of China's greatest athletes, who had won huge accolades for the country. But few people seemed to care that they were first and foremost human beings with physical and emotional frailties. Against such irrational expectation and grueling regimens of training, no wonder few can afford to enjoy the process of competition.

Once China came up with the largest hoard of gold medals in the Beijing Olympics, a new mentality started to gain traction.

Sports, some have been arguing, should be more about the fun of achievement than about gold medals. Now that we've seen the glory of the result-oriented approach - albeit only the tip of the cost iceberg - shouldn't we graduate to the process-oriented approach?

Out of this phase of subtle transition came Fu, whose elation at winning a bronze was so heartwarming and hilarious that it touched a nerve as inherently significant as seeing a Chinese flag rise in an Olympics stadium.

Chinese sports heroes like Lin Dan and Yao Ming have added flair to ultimate gamesmanship, but the self-effacing Fu is much more relatable, and her immediate popularity reflects the growing maturity of a public whose fixation is shifting from the medal tally to human dimensions of the athletes.

China needs more sports heroes, or rather, more diverse types of ace athletes. Fu has just broken the stereotype by being unwilling - or unable - to fit into the uptight mode. "If one day I become demure and wear a shy smile, I'd hate myself," she said.

Win or lose, she has exuded a personality that's forever winning.

Contact the writer at raymondzhou@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 08/19/2016 page22)