It seems Chinese swimmer Qin Haiyang made a big impression even before dipping his toes into the pool for the 100m breaststroke semi-finals at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Sunday (July 28).
Dressed in a huge red puffer jacket and his goggles already on, the 25-year-old’s walk out to the pool is going viral with many online gushing over his swagger.
Besides his now much-talked-about walk, there was also an increased interest in Haiyang’s red outfit, with some online asking where they could buy it.
Haiyang went on to win the race with a timing of 58:93 though he failed to medal at the finals on Monday (July 29), coming in a distant seventh.
But netizens still showered him with adoration, with one writing, “Dude walked in like he owned the place.”
Another asked, “Is this Paris Fashion Week or the Olympics?”
Others got creative online and have since taken clips of his walk and paired it with fancy catwalk-like music.
No wonder one netizen asked if he was “born to be a model, but forced to be a swimmer?”