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Chinese Gymnast Copying Italian Celebration on Olympic Podium Was Incredibly Wholesome

Tom Dierberger

Yaqin Zhou of Team China stands next to Italians Alice D'Amato and Manila Esposito on the podium during the medal ceremony for the balance beam final.
Yaqin Zhou of Team China stands next to Italians Alice D'Amato and Manila Esposito on the podium during the medal ceremony for the balance beam final. / Tom Weller / VOIGT

After starring in the women's balance beam final at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on Monday, Chinese gymnast Yaqin Zhou became a viral sensation for her all-too-relatable move on the podium.

Zhou battled through the unique conditions of the balance beam final to post a 14.100 score, enough to earn the silver medal. She was sandwiched in the standings by a pair of Italian gymnasts in gold medalist Alice D'Amato and bronze medalist Manila Esposito, and found herself standing by both on the podium in the medal ceremony.

While Italy's national anthem played, the 18-year-old Zhou looked to her left and noticed D'Amato and Esposito were biting their medals. So Zhou followed suit—almost—by putting her silver medal up to her mouth but not biting it.

Too funny.

Olympic fans loved the moment from Zhou:

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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