许多中国网友深受触动,纷纷在社交媒体上表达了对她的支持.
"I really admire Fu Yuanhui, for swimming while she was on her period - women can be affected during their periods, especially with period pain... she felt guilty for coming fourth, but Fu Yuanhui we're still very proud of you," user TAO wrote on Sina Weibo.
新浪微博用户TAO表示："我真的很敬佩傅园慧生理期还去比赛游泳.女性会受到生理期的影响,尤其是痛经的话……中国队拿了第四,她很内疚.但是傅园慧,我们依然为你骄傲."
Tampons are relatively unknown in China
在中国,卫生棉条少有人知
It's also sparked a discussion about tampons - which are not widely used in China. According to one industry survey, only 2% of women in China use tampons -compared to 42% of US women.
关于卫生棉条的讨论也由此引爆.卫生棉条在中国并未得到广泛使用.一项业内调查显示,只有2%的中国女性使用卫生棉条,而美国女性的使用比例是42%.
Many women weren't familiar with how to use them, or had not heard of them before, the survey by Cotton Inc said.
美国棉花公司的调查称,许多女性不熟悉卫生棉条的使用方法,甚至从未听说过.
"Someone accused Fu of lying, asking how she could have gone in the water on her period," weibo user Dvingnew wrote. "Chinese people have prejudices about tampons - as a woman over 30, I'd been ignorant, and full of fear, about tampons until now too."
微博用户Dvingnew说："有人指责傅园慧撒谎,问她生理期怎么下水.中国人对卫生棉条怀有偏见.我作为一个三十多岁的女性,直到现在也对它一无所知,心存畏惧."
And there may also be cultural factors at play too - some Chinese women have been told to avoid using tampons because it could stop them from being virgins, despite health experts pointing out that the two things are unrelated.
这可能也有文化因素的作用——一些中国女性被告知不要使用卫生棉条,因为那会破坏处女膜.而健康专家指出,两者并没有什么关系.
One poster defending tampons wrote: "Who told you virgins can't use tampons? Come on, it's the 21st Century."
支持使用棉条一方的帖子写道："谁跟你说处女不可以用棉条的？拜托,这都21世纪了."
According to reports, China's first domestic tampon brand may be launched soon - which may encourage more women to swim while on their periods.
据报道,中国首家本土卫生棉条品牌很快就要成立,这或许能鼓励更多女性在生理期游泳.
So can menstrual cycles affect sporting performance?
那么,生理期会影响运动表现吗？
The subject of competing while menstruating is "definitely a taboo", Georgie Bruinvels, a sports scientist, tells the BBC.
