China Olympic hero Pan would swap gold for quiet life, Quan Hongchan besieged at airport

Two of China’s biggest stars at the Paris Olympics are struggling to cope with obsessive fan culture, finding themselves regularly mobbed at airports, hotels and in their hometowns.

A video of diving sensation Quan Hongchan has gone viral on China’s Instagram-like platform, Xiaohongshu, with users expressing anger at fans for surrounding the 17-year-old at an airport, despite her being uncomfortable with the situation.

Swimmer Pan Zhanle, who won two golds and a silver in Paris, even said he would be willing to give up his Olympic success if it meant he could return to the quiet life.

“I can’t go out by myself, even now, coming to this interview, the ground floor of the hotel is full of people wanting autographs,” Pan told Chinese media.

“This is the only bad thing about being famous, too many people surround me. I want to keep a low profile [and] be quiet. I’d rather not have as much success [as I did in Paris] if it meant I could continue training hard with peace of mind.”