Fan Zhendong wins gold, celebrates with Taylor Swift tribute

China's renowned table tennis athlete Fan Zhendong clinched the men's singles gold medal with a 4-1 victory over Sweden's Truls Möregårdh at the Paris Games. Following his triumph, the well-known Taylor Swift fan shared the track "The Alchemy" from Swift's album The Tortured Poets Department on his personal Sina Weibo account, captioning it with, "Finally touch down."

Fan's post quickly gained a following, and by Tuesday, "The Alchemy" had soared to the top of China's popular streaming platform QQ Music's peak surge chart. Many comments under the song noted that Fan's endorsement had drawn them in, while others extended their congratulations and support to the athlete.

Apart from his outstanding table tennis skills, Fan is also widely recognized as a devoted Taylor Swift fan. He frequently shares Swift's lyrics or songs on Weibo.

Ahead of the finals, a hashtag created by fans, "I'm Taylor Swift; I cheer for Fan Zhendong," had garnered over 100 million views as of Tuesday on Weibo. Some netizens created montages of his past matches set to Swift's music, and some even designed posters of Fan's various matches styled like Swift's "The Eras Tour" to support him.
In March, a viral video on social media showed him singing along to "Cruel Summer" at Swift's Singaporean concert, just days before competing at the World Table Tennis Singapore Smash. In the competition, he suffered a 1-3 upset by 18-year-old compatriot Lin Shidong. Some questioned whether attending the concert impacted his training.

Following the match, Fan posted on Weibo to defend himself, "Music knows no borders. Great musicians like Taylor Swift bring healing and confidence. I hope more people can open their hearts to this charm."

"On the court, I am an athlete trained by the country, striving for national glory for over a decade. Off the court, in my limited personal time, I am just an ordinary young man with normal hobbies and relationships… I was screaming 'long live all the magic we made, and bring on all the pretenders, one day we will be remembered,'" he wrote, quoting the lyrics of Swift's song "Long Live."

Accompanying this post was a nearly five-minute vlog in which Fan is seen wearing a cap with the word "Reputation," which is also the sixth album from Swift, carrying a Swift tote bag, and wearing "friendship bracelets."

In Swift's hit song "You're On Your Own, Kid" on the 2022 album Midnights, Swift wrote "make the friendship bracelets, take a moment and taste it." The lyrics have inspired a trend among Swifties, the nickname of Swift's fans, to trade bracelets with each other at her concerts.