She may not have broken a record, but Fu Yuanhui did manage to break a taboo.

After finishing fourth in the women's 4x100m medley relay on Sunday, the Chinese swimmer was absent while her teammates Lu Ying, Shi Jinglin and Zhu Menghui were being interviewed.

It transpired she was squatting in pain behind a hoarding.

"I didn't swim well enough this time," Fu said, apologising to her team-mates. "It's because my period came yesterday, so I felt particularly tired - but this isn't a reason, I still didn't swim well enough."

The frank admission that it was her time of the month endeared her further to Chinese viewers back home, who had already become fans of the swimmer for her funny facial expressions and candid interviews.