Fu Yuanhui Reacting To Placing In Preliminaries At ‘2016 Olympics’ In Rio Is Adorable — Chinese Swimmer Becoming Event’s Most Lovable Athlete

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The 2016 Olympics is currently underway, and it is already becoming an Olympics with so many monumental moments to be remembered for years. It is unfortunate most of what will be remembered are of a negative note like Piers Morgan and Wil Wheaton criticizing the United States’ first gold medal when Ginny Thrasher got first place for the 10-meter air rifle event, or the U.S. basketball team caught at Rio’s most notorious brothel. Let’s not forget the accidents and injuries, such as Samir Ait Said, breaking his leg on the vault and Annemiek van Vleuten horrendously crashing during the women’s road race.

Despite the aforementioned, there are some memorable moments of a positive note, such as Michael Phelps winning three gold medals for the men’s 4×200 meter freestyle relay, men’s 200 meter butterfly, and men’s 4×100 meter freestyle relay. One of these positives, making its rounds on the internet, isn’t even an event or moment but one of the athletes themselves. Fu Yuanhui reacted in an adorable way when she found out she placed in the preliminaries. Her bubbly attitude is attracting much attention and Fu Yuanhui is quickly becoming the most lovable athlete of the 2016 Olympics.

Fu Yuanhui was suddenly thrust into the limelight during an interview after she swam in the preliminary round for the 100 meter backstroke. According to Huffington Post, Yuanhui placed third, but she did not even know she even placed or how fast she was going until the interview. Fu Yuanhui’s reactions to placing, as well as her facial expressions and the use of her “mystic powers” are quite cute.

“I’m that fast? I’m very satisfied… I didn’t hold back. I already used up all of my mystic powers.”

Apparently, Fu Yuanhui’s use of “mystic powers” sparked major discussions online. Thankfully, we know that in Mandarin, the phrase she used is “????,” which loosely translated to English reads “prehistoric forces” or “mystic powers.” It is an archaic phrase with its root in one of China’s ancient books of wisdom, titled I Ching. However, some fans recognize the quote used in other Chinese media, such as Wallace Huo’s popular martial arts drama, The Journey of the Flower. And of course, there is the foreign interpretations, such as Fu Yuanhui’s “mystic powers” being associated to “The Force” (of Star Wars lore).

Eventually, Fu Yuanhui would later go on to win the bronze medal in the women’s 100 meter backstroke. She tied with Canada’s Kylie Masse at 58.76 seconds. From what we can discern from the animated picture attached above, Yuanhui is happy nevertheless, despite not taking home a silver or gold medal. And to be frank, why should she be unhappy? Fu Yuanhui is probably the most popular athlete at the 2016 Olympics right now.

To prove just how popular Fu Yuanhui has become, Chinese reporters scrambled like crazy to report more on her, as reported by DramaFever. For example, they were able to find her father wanting an explanation for her cheerful attitude, quirkiness, and funny expressions. He would say they were a way of “relieving stress.” The reporters even sought out Yuanhui to ask juicier questions, especially when it comes to relationships. Yuanhui provided her preferences, but expressed her uncertainties, too.

“I look for maturity and tolerance. I don’t really know what my requirements should be because I’ve never fallen in love.”

As of now, there are ten more days to go for the 2016 Olympics. Sporting events that are currently taking place or will take place includes equestrian events, badminton, golf, canoe sprint, marathon swimming, Taekwondo, track and field, wrestling, volleyball, and handball.

[Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images]