Another Chinese runner criticized for 'inappropriate' appearance

The tournament took place at the end of April, attracting athletes from more than 30 countries. Among them, Feng received a lot of attention because of her appearance, great figure and pale skin.

The Chinese runner wore a blue one-piece outfit that did not cover her thighs. Most other athletes chose to wear two-piece shirt-and-shorts combinations that covered their thighs and mid-sections.

Feng also wore sunglasses and watches during the tournament.

Feng Jingshuang's outfit at the 2024 World Triathlon Cup that has drawn debate on the Internet. Photos taken from Douyin

She finished all three events, including running, swimming, and cycling, but Chinese websites did not reveal her specific results.

However, pictures surfaced of Feng receiving while standing on the champion's podium, so she apparently won at least one gold medal.

On the social network Weibo, besides Chinese fans praising Feng's performance, many people criticized her for wearing a tight outfit they deemed "too revealing for an athlete."

She was also slammed when a video of her applying makeup before receiving the medal went viral on social media. On the podium, the two athletes standing next to Feng were both wearing outfits with pants covering their thighs.

Some netizens yet defended Feng, saying she wore comfortable clothes as a more effective way to eliminate heat. She competes in a tournament with running, swimming and cycling events, so wearing a one-piece outfit is said to help her feel more comfortable and improve her performance.

At the 2022 Beijing - Tianjin - Hebei triathlon, Feng was also criticized for wearing revealing clothes, a tight outfit with a triangle swimming bottom. At that time, many people thought that Feng dressed like that on purpose to attract attention.

But a number of experts have spoken out about the incident, explaining that in triathlons, competition outfits are designed to be tight and fit perfectly to the athlete's body, Using unfitting clothes during swimming, running or cycling can cause bruises on the body.

Feng has since expressed her desire for fans to respect and appreciate her efforts and results in a competition, instead of just caring about her outfit.

Feng has been a promising athlete in China and was expected to become a star ever since she won the Asia Triathlon Youth Championships at 16 years old.

However, she had to retire due to injury at the age of 20. Since 2020, she has become an online sports celebrity and has participated in some amateur tournaments.

Last month, Wu Yanni was also criticized for wearing heavy makeup and sexy clothes when competing in the 100m hurdles and finishing last at both Diamond League events in China. But Sina pointed out the difference that Wu is still a professional athlete, while Feng has retired and only participates in amateur competitions.

Xia Sining, another Chinese female track and field athlete, also received similar criticism when she competed in the 100m hurdles event at the 2024 national athletics championship. Many people did not understand why Sining wore triangle pants, instead of wearing shorts like others.

In response to the controversy, Xia’s coaching staff explained that athletes wear triangle pants to have an additional advantage during competition. By reducing friction and wind resistance, athletes can improve speed by about 0.01 seconds, which is very important in determining performance and rankings among athletes.