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Olympic athletes win fans by flexing personality
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THE defining moments of the Rio Olympics have been played out on field as much as off it. They have come from the heart of athletes. They have been spontaneous. Above all, they’ve been authentic; never staged, never planned in advance.
For nations and athletes alike, the Olympics are a platform to pump up national pride and honor. Expectations are sky-high as ever; delivering on them invites as much emotional outpouring as the failure to do so.
There is no doubt that traditional and social media amplify those emotions. For young adults who are most deeply engaged with sport, culture and consumption, it is imperative that their role models are authentic.
It comes as no surprise, then, that for the Chinese, young swimmer Fu Yuanhui is the greatest star to emerge from the Rio contingent. She has single-handedly changed the expectations of a nation. First, by expressing unabashed delight upon winning a bronze medal. She joked about herself, saying “maybe my arm is too short,” perhaps in reference to the incredible arm span of all-time great Michael Phelps.
Her varied facial expressions seem to have inspired the otherwise reserved gold medal winning diver Cao Yuan to express himself by pumping his fist after his final dive.
Even as her Weibo following leapt to 2.7 million followers, Fu really “broke the Internet” with her taboo-busting comment about not performing well and disappointing her relay team mates because she was having her period.
Now she has a fan following of 6 million, all because she is just being true to herself, to the world.
While Fu went from being an anonymous swimmer to a goofy yet lovable celebrity, Usain Bolt’s infectious delight at his accomplishments allows him to engage with his fellow athletes and fans with equal ease.
His now-iconic photo of grinning and looking sideways at his straining competitors stands in stark contrast with the image of Phelps focused on the finish line in the pool. In his final Olympics, Bolt seems to be conveying the message of enjoying winning, and relishes proving the doubters wrong. Who wouldn’t want to?
The Olympic motto of “Higher, Faster, Stronger” has been as much about achievement at the highest level as the importance of participating.
But we now live in an era where sport is riddled with as much deception as life itself. We’re pushed to be competitive by our parents, our peers, our teachers and our employers; the display of achievement on social media adds to our discontent. At the same time, we have come to witness the fallibility of heroes. It is when they pick themselves up and get back into contention, that their stories become really inspiring.
With ever greater connections to the world, enabled by social media, we find ourselves influenced by the stories of people we know well and people we have come to admire. They shape our thinking and they shape our actions. But even as we are exposed to more stories, we’re getting better at sifting the truth from the lies, the spontaneous and natural from the paid and the insincere.
Kunal Sinha has been based in Shanghai for over a decade, and is the author of two books about creativity in business.
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