Legendary Chinese swimmer Wu Chuanyu was the first male swimmer to represent China in the Olympic Games. Born in Indonesia, the ethnically Chinese Wu represented Nationalist China and in the 1948 London Olympics and in 1952 represented the People’s Republic of China. In 1953 he became the first Chinese athlete to win a gold medal at a major international sports competition for the PRC. He was also the first athlete to participate in the first People’s Congress of the PRC in 1953. Tragically, he died in a plane crash before reaching his great potential as a swimmer. Accepting the award on his behalf is his friend and teammate Hwang Hongjiu.
