China’s most famous Taylor Swift fan saw his wildest dreams come to pass on Sunday afternoon when Fan Zhendong finally secured a long-sought individual Olympic gold medal. The nine-time world champion extended another Chinese gold rush in Olympic table tennis by seeing off Sweden’s Truls Möregårdh over four tense sets, adding the men’s singles title to previous wins for the country in the women’s singles and the mixed doubles with just the team events to come. China have now won 35 of the 40 gold medals and 63 of the 118 total medals since the sport was introduced to the Olympics in 1988.
The 28-year-old Fan is already a massive celebrity in China, where the sport is a national obsession. But the unapologetic Swiftie has seen his global profile explode during these Olympics thanks to unearthed social media clips that have activated the American singer’s online fanbase.
