Fans rally behind 'Dancing King' Zhang Guowei after preliminary contest loss

“No worries, we will wait for you to dance for us in four years,” wrote Weibo user AKiseMO_KHR to Chinese vaulter Zhang Guowei, encouraging him in advance of the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Zhang, 25, broke China's record in men's vaulting at a national tournament in 2013. However, he failed to qualify for the men's vaulting final at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Nevertheless, he has long been popular among Chinese netizens for exhibiting passionate and--according to netizens--“crazy but captivating” dance moves after every win.

“I have no excuses. I am a professional athlete, and I simply lost the game,” Zhang said on his Weibo after the Aug. 15 preliminary contest. His two Weibo posts, one apologizing for the failure and another encouraging himself to move forward, have attracted more than 100,000 comments, with most netizens encouraging him to collect himself and keep practicing for a better future.