HK Sprinter With Surname ‘Diu’ At Paris Olympics Becomes Internet Sensation

Hong Kong athlete Felix Diu may not have scored a medal at the Olympics, but it seems the 24-year-old has caught the attention of spectators worldwide.

Seconds before the preliminary round in the men’s 100m race, Felix was seen pointing to his race bib with his surname ‘Diu’ as the cameras panned across the runners.

In Cantonese, 'diu' is a profanity — it's the dialect's equivalent of the F-word basically — and is commonly used as part of an expletive to curse someone’s mum.

Yikes! We can only imagine the stares Felix gets whenever he needs to identify himself in Hong Kong.

Also, wouldn't it be awkward if he mouthed the famous Cantonese phrase after realising he missed qualifying for the next round by 0.02 seconds?

Though many comforted Felix on social media about not qualifying for the next round, netizens unfamiliar with him said they had to do a double-take when they saw his surname flash across their screens during his event.

“Wish I could have been part of the cheering team! Win or lose, it would have made a great anthem,” read one comment, while a Hong Konger wrote, “As someone from Hong Kong, I felt that!”

Another netizen got creative and even filmed himself cheering Felix on, saying, “This is the greatest name I’ve seen in my life.”

“Come on, Diu! Run Diu, you’re doing good, Diu,” he screamed, shouting Felix’s surname louder with each sentence.

Catch Felix Diu participate in the Men’s 100m Preliminary Rounds on mewatch.

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