Chinese Gymnast Copying Italian Celebration on Olympic Podium Was Incredibly Wholesome

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.

Zhou Yaqin reaction on the podium was priceless. pic.twitter.com/IKtTXdIXoD

— NO CONTEXT OLYMPICS (@OlympicsContext) August 5, 2024

Too funny.

Olympic fans loved the moment from Zhou:

She just going along with the flow 😂

— Aunt Ken Ken 🥰 (@KendraGainey) August 5, 2024

this is so cute ☺️
chinese gymnast imitating italian tradition to jokingly bite your medal to appreciate its value hahahaha pic.twitter.com/jNFGigNSM1

— Æ (@neolatyno) August 5, 2024

🇨🇳 Zhou Yaqin discovering the custom of biting the medal in real time pic.twitter.com/QyzOCQ7M9O

— Orikron 🇵🇹 (@orikron) August 5, 2024

Last Olympics the adorable moment was Guan Chenchen🇨🇳 doing a happy jump with her gold medal on beam

This Olympics the adorable moment is Zhou Yaqin🇨🇳 copying the Italian🇮🇹 gymnasts pic.twitter.com/7tFFamYeK8

— The Medal Count (@TheMedalCount_) August 5, 2024

This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chinese Gymnast Copying Italian Celebration on Olympic Podium Was Incredibly Wholesome.