China's women's swimmer Fu Yuanhui has created a sensation online not just by winning the bronze medal in the 100m backstroke competition, but also by her facial expressions during the post-semifinal interview with China Central Television (CCTV) on Monday.

Fu swam into the women's 100m backstroke final with 58.95 seconds in the semifinal, setting her personal best in the game. When the CCTV reporter informed her about the lap time, Fu's eyes suddenly widened and said: "I am very satisfied with my performance and I thought it was 59 seconds."

When asked whether she held back for the final, Fu replied, "No, I utilized my 'prehistorical' power." What she meant was that she had spared no efforts in the semifinal.

Since then, the so-called "prehistorical power" has gone viral and become a new internet meme. The phrase originates from a Chinese fantasy drama "The journey of Flower" or "Hua Qian Gu", and its English translation first appeared on the subtitles of CCTV news channel.