I’ll never get used to being a star: Olympic champ, world’s fastest swimmer Pan

World record holder Pan Zhanle is still struggling to come to terms with his new-found fame, three months after winning gold for China at the Paris Olympics.

Speaking after winning the 100 metres freestyle at the Swimming World Cup in Singapore on Friday – his first competition since winning Olympic gold in the same event – Pan said he did not think he would ever get used to being one of his country’s biggest stars.

The world’s fastest swimmer also said he hoped the Chinese fans who came to support him and his teammates at the World Cup would also cheer on his foreign counterparts.

“I’ll never get used to it [having hundreds of fans coming to see me]. I want to keep a low profile and get back to how it used to be [before I was famous] at competitions,” Pan said.

He said that if did not have to compete, he could return to that sort of life, “because where we train is closed off [to the public]”.

Pan, now 20 years old, shot to fame in 2023 when he won three gold medals, three silvers and a bronze at the Asian Games.