WINNING ISN’T EVERYTHING.docVIP

WINNING ISN’T EVERYTHING 　　Fu Yuanhui， a Chinese swimmer at the 2016 Rio Olympics， has had a new Internet meme created for her impulsive and hilarious post-race interviews. 　　After the 100-meter backstroke semifinal on August 8， she was interviewed poolside by a Chinese broadcaster. When the reporter informed her that she’d actually broken the 59 second barrier， Fu was blown away： “58.95？！ I thought I did 59 seconds！ Wow！ Am I so fast？ I am very pleased！” she exclaimed. 　　Having been questioned on whether she had reserved some energy for the upcoming final， Fu replied， “No， not at all！ I’ve already assumed my final form. This is my best time ever！” 　　The last question， on whether she saw more hope in the upcoming final， was met with an equally unorthodox response： “Not really. I am already quite satisfied.” 　　Her reaction was soon the most trending item on Chinese microblogging service Weibo， while “final form” has become a new buzz-word， and netizens animate snapshots of her interviews. 　　“She is my goddess， and I love her so much，” commented one microblogger. “She deserves a gold medal for this interview regardless of the swimming result.” 　　But she wasn’t finished there. In the final the following night， Fu touched the wall in a dead heat for third behind Hungarian winner Katinka Hosszu and America’s Kathleen Baker. Fu， unaware of her triumph， trudged over to the same broadcaster for another interview. 　　“Even though I didn’t win a medal...”While she was intending to say some words to cheer herself up， the reporter interjected，“But you did get a medal， you are third.” 　　After several seconds of incredulity， she exclaimed， “Huh？ What？！ Third？ I did not know！ Well， then I think that’s not bad at all！” 　　“Actually， I watched the final not for her result but for her response at the post-race interview，” said 40-year-old Jiang Wenyuan， a Beijing resident. “She is adorable and fun and so different to many other athletes I have seen before.” 　　 The fun ga