View source for Wu Chuanyu

{{Short description|Chinese swimmer (1928–1954)}}
{{For|the martial arts teacher|Wu Ch'uan-yu}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Wu (surname)|Wu]]|lang=Chinese}}
{{Infobox swimmer
| name           = Wu Chuanyu
| image          = <!-- Only free-content images are allowed for depicting living people -- see [[WP:NONFREE]]. -->
| image_size     = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels -->
| alt            = 
| caption        = 
| native_name    = 吴传玉
| native_name_lang = zh
| birth_name     = Wu Chuanyu
| fullname       = 
| nickname       = 
| nationality    = 
| national_team  = {{ROC}} (1948)<br>{{INA}} (1951)<br>{{CHN}} (1952–1954)
| birth_date     = {{Birth date|1928|08|21|df=y}}
| birth_place    = [[Salatiga]], [[Central Java]], [[Dutch East Indies]]
| death_date     = {{Death date and age|1954|10|28|1928|08|21|df=y}}
| death_place    = Mount Sivukha, [[Krasnoyarsk Krai]], [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]], [[Soviet Union|USSR]]
| height         = 
| weight         = 
| website        = 
| strokes        = [[backstroke]], [[Freestyle swimming|freestyle]]
| classification = <!-- Only for para-swimmers; omitted otherwise -->
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| show-medals    = <!-- "yes" to display, hidden by default -->
}}
'''Wu Chuanyu''' ({{lang-zh|s=吴传玉|t=[[wikt:吳|吳]][[wikt:傳|傳]][[wikt:玉|玉]]|p=Wú Chuányù}}) (21 August 1928 &ndash; 28 October 1954) was an Indonesian-born Chinese swimmer who competed in the [[Summer Olympic Games]] in [[Swimming at the 1948 Summer Olympics|1948]] and [[Swimming at the 1952 Summer Olympics|1952]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Wu Chuanyu Biography and Statistics |work=Sports Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/wu/wu-chuanyu-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418062619/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/wu/wu-chuanyu-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-04-18 |accessdate=2008-08-13}}</ref>  In his second Games, he became the first competitor for the [[People's Republic of China]] in Olympic history.

==Biography==
He was born in [[Salatiga]], [[Central Java]], [[Dutch East Indies]] (now [[Indonesia]]) on August 21, 1928, the son of immigrants from [[Fujian]], a coastal province of southeastern China. He swam from an early age, playing as a child on the riverside of [[Surakarta]]. In 1941, at the age of 13, he performed beyond all expectations at an important swimming competition in Indonesia, setting a new Indonesian record for the 200 metre butterfly and beating the Dutch champion.<ref name="people.com.cn">{{cite web |title=Legend of the Olympic Games: China's Pride - Wu Chuan-yu |work=People's Daily Online |url=http://2008.people.com.cn/BIG5/22180/62396/62401/6665024.html |accessdate=2008-08-14 |language=zh |archive-date=2011-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524004335/http://2008.people.com.cn/BIG5/22180/62396/62401/6665024.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Wu was one of the 26 competitors—and the lone swimmer—representing the [[Republic of China at the 1948 Summer Olympics]] in [[London]]. Wu swam in the heats of the men's 100 metre [[freestyle swimming|freestyle]], finishing fifth in his heat with the 32nd fastest time overall (1:03.5).<ref>{{cite book|title=The Official Report of the Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad |editor=Lord Burghley |editor-link=David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter|publisher=Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad |location=London |year=1951 |pages=454 |url=http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1948/OR1948.pdf |accessdate=2008-08-13 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716035822/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1948/OR1948.pdf |archivedate=2011-07-16 }}</ref>

In the fall of 1951, at the age of 23, Wu represented Indonesia at the [[3rd World Festival of Youth and Students]] in [[East Berlin]], winning a silver medal in the 100 metre backstroke, with a time of 1:12.8.<ref name="people.com.cn"/>

At the [[1952 Summer Olympics]] in [[Helsinki]], Wu was part of the 40-member delegation from the People's Republic of China.  The government decided to send the Olympic team only one day prior to the opening ceremonies, and the [[basketball]] and [[association football|football]] teams arrived too late to compete, making Wu the only competitor for China at those Games.<ref>{{cite news |first=Nick |last=Mulvenney |title=Chen Chengda, China's almost Olympian |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Olympics/idUSPEK30776220080807?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0 |publisher=Reuters |date=2008-08-07 |accessdate=2008-08-13}}</ref>
Wu swam in the heats of the men's 100 metre [[backstroke]] on July 30, and finished fifth in his heat with the 28th fastest time overall (1:12.3).<ref>{{cite book|title=The Official Report of the Organising Committee for the Games of the XV Olympiad Helsinki 1952 |editor=Kolkka, Sulo |year=1955 |publisher=Organising Committee for the XV Olympiad Helsinki 1952 |location=Helsinki |pages=574 |url=http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1952/OR1952.pdf |accessdate=2008-08-13 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411091045/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1952/OR1952.pdf |archivedate=2008-04-11 }}</ref>

In August 1953, Wu competed at the [[4th World Festival of Youth and Students]] in [[Bucharest]], [[Romania]].  He won the 100 metre backstroke with a time of 1:06.4. His victory was so unexpected that the swimming organizers did not have a recording of the [[March of the Volunteers|Chinese national anthem]] and had to borrow one from the [[athletics (sport)|athletics]] organizers.  This medal ceremony was the first time that the [[flag of the People's Republic of China]] was raised at an international sporting event.<ref name="people.com.cn"/>

In 1954, Wu and the entire Chinese swimming team was sent to [[Budapest]], [[Hungary]] to receive training. While in Budapest, Wu attended the 12th World Student Games.

==Death==
{{further|Aeroflot Flight 136}}
Wu returned to China, where he attended the [[1st National People's Congress|first National People's Congress]]. After the conclusion of the Congress, Wu died in an airplane crash in 28 October 1954 midnight in [[Krasnoyarsk Krai]], [[Soviet Union]], at the age of 26 while traveling to Budapest to resume his training. The flight was from Beijing to Moscow with multiple stops in between with different flight numbers. The plane flew into the side of Mount Sivukha. On board were nine foreign passengers (the other eight were 4 Poles and 4 Cypriots). For years after his death, his skills were extolled by [[Chinese Communist Party]] chairman [[Mao Zedong]].<ref name="people.com.cn"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{sports links}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Chuanyu}}
[[Category:1928 births]]
[[Category:1954 deaths]]
[[Category:Chinese male backstroke swimmers]]
[[Category:Chinese male freestyle swimmers]]
[[Category:Indonesian sportspeople of Chinese descent]]
[[Category:Indonesian emigrants to China]]
[[Category:Indonesian male swimmers]]
[[Category:Olympic swimmers for China]]
[[Category:Swimmers at the 1948 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Swimmers at the 1952 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:People from Salatiga]]
[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1954]]
[[Category:20th-century Chinese sportsmen]]
[[Category:20th-century Indonesian sportsmen]]