Chinese swimming authorities say they have launched an investigation into cyberbullying of diving champion Quan Hongchan, a three-time Olympic gold medallist, and reported the matter to police.
“Malicious” online attacks against Quan are being investigated by China’s General Administration of Sport, the body said on Wednesday.
Quan, who won her first gold at Tokyo 2020 at the age of 14 and two more at the following games in Paris 2024, has given several interviews in which she talked about toxic online commentary over her weight and the immense pressure she has felt to diet even though she was already eating very little.
Now 19, Quan told Chinese magazine Renwu this year that she seriously considered retiring after the Paris Olympics before deciding she wanted to keep going.
“After the Olympics I actually thought about retiring,” she said.
Quan said that she had been asked repeatedly about her weight.
“During that time, not just within the team but also in public opinion outside, I saw people every day saying I was fat,” Quan said.
“Recently cyberbullying, malicious attacks and false information targeting Quan Hongchan and other divers has emerged online,” the General Administration of Sport’s swimming management centre said in a statement.
“Our centre takes this very seriously and immediately launched verification and handling work,” it said, adding that it was working with officials in the southern province of Guangdong, where Quan is from.
It added that it “firmly” rejected “abnormal” fan culture.
Adulation towards China’s athletes has included fans obsessing over their personal lives and cyberbullying opponents.
State media have called such behaviour “toxic fandom” and Chinese authorities pledged to crack down on it.
Quan won gold at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021 when she was just 14. She won two more golds in Paris in 2024.
Now one of China’s most popular athletes, crowds have descended on the teenager’s hometown and mobbed her at hotels.
Quan’s swimming club also said on Wednesday it had “reported the case” to police.
“Athletes are a valuable national asset,” the Guangdong-based Ersha Sports Training Centre said on social media.
“Any act of malicious slander, insult or spreading false information against athletes and their families has crossed the legal and moral line,” it added.
Quan has seen her home village of Maihe, part of the southern city of Zhanjiang, become a tourist destination since her Olympic success.
Her life has been placed under a microscope, the state-backed Global Times said in an April editorial, criticising an “unhealthy fan culture” where admiration turns into criticism, even hostility.
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