Chinese swimmer Zhang Yufei Photo: VCG

After eight years of hard work, Zhang Yufei, a 23-year-old Chinese swimmer who Chinese netizens have nicknamed "butterfly queen," fulfilled her Olympic dream after winning the gold medal for the women's 200-meter butterfly event on Thursday morning. 

In the final competition, Zhang won her event with a time of 2 minutes 3.86 seconds, a clear lead over US swimmer Regan Smith, who finished in 2 minutes 5.30 seconds. This comes as no surprise as during the semifinals, Zhang was the first to gain entry to the finals. 

Zhang' achievement gave China its 13th gold medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games. It was also the first gold for the Chinese swim team at the Tokyo Games. 

Her success inspired netizens, who took to social media to congratulate the athlete. Impressed by her speed, some began calling her China's "butterfly queen." Others sent words of encouragement to the Chinese swim team, calling on them to hold onto this momentum in this sport that traditionally has been seen as one of China's fortes. 

"Go, Chinese girl! Chinese swimming needs this medal very much," wrote one netizen on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo.

As netizens hoped, later that same day Zhang reached a new peak by winning another gold with her teammates in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay event, defeating the extremely competitive Team Australia. 

"I don't know how it happened, but swimming the last 50 meters, I felt the power of China kindle in my heart and felt that I must fight," Zhang told media after the competition.

"My eyes became moist. I still remember the excitement that I felt when watching Chinese female swimmer Ye Shiwen win at the 2012 London Olympic Games almost 10 years ago. I've been waiting far too long," Zhang Xiao, an amateur swimmer in Chengdu, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

The gold medal win was not only good for Team China, but also a symbol of the potential and capability of Zhang, who lost the gold to Canadian swimmer Maggie MacNeil, who was also born in China, on Monday. 

Before becoming the "butterfly queen," Zhang spent eight years in a "cocoon" as she trained with the National Team. According to Zhang, her determination to attain the gold swim did not merely come from passion and hard work, but also love, especially her deep connection to her father. 

With both parents being swimming coaches, the sport was part of Zhang's life from early on. She once told media that she started her swimming career when her parents "forced her" into it by "throwing" her into a pool. Born with a minor case of scoliosis, she had a difficult climb as a swimmer, but her father was a constant source of comfort and encouragement until he sadly passed away when she was 4-years-old. 

After that, she became even more determined to become a swimmer, allowing her father's love to drive her to become even stronger.