13-year-old Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi has once again captured the attention of the swimming world, breaking an Asian record in the 200m individual medley at the Chinese National Games with a time of 2:07.41.
The record was previously held by Olympic swimmer Ye Shiwen, highlighting just how impressive the young swimmer’s feat is. Her time was just shy of Summer McIntosh’s world record of 2:05.70, set at the Canadian trials this year.
Chinese Swimmer Yu Zidi’s Incredible Performances Draws Attention From Fans
In August of this year, World Aquatics announced a policy review of its 14-year minimum age for the World Championships, following Yu’s performances, which made her international debut at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships. She became the youngest ever medalist at the tournament by winning a bronze as part of the Chinese 4x200m freestyle relay team. Yu also competed in the 200m IM, narrowly missing out on a bronze in that event as well.
Her performance at the Chinese National Games did not go unnoticed, with X user pauldeb891 expressing their appreciation for the talented swimmer:
“She would have been silver at singapore worlds. Too young to take part at junior worlds but good enough to race at senior worlds at 12. Turned 13 in October. World Aquatics is resetting age limit policies because of her. Yu Zidi is SHAKING the swimming world, we are all witnesses,”
Yu is regarded as one of swimming’s most promising prospects, with many considering her among the world’s best. Her rapid career start is unsurprising given her early introduction to the sport.
Yu Was Spotted By A Coach At The Age Of Six
The Chinese prodigy previously revealed that she swam for the first time at the age of 6 in an amusement park, with a coach spotting her talent. According to AP News, she said:
“The summer was too hot, and my dad took me to the water park. I enjoyed the coolness of the water and spent a lot of time in different small pools for kids. One day, a coach approached me and asked if I wanted to swim faster.”
She also revealed what her favorite events to compete in were, adding, “Since I am not competitive in the sprint events, I have to choose the 400-meter individual medley and the 200-meter butterfly as my favorites. My age is currently an advantage, and I hope to grow and develop more strength in the future.”
Yu is not the first young swimmer to break records. South Africa’s Karen Muir set the 100m backstroke world record in 1965 as the youngest ever. Inge Sørensen, previously the youngest major international medalist, won bronze in the 200m breaststroke at the 1936 Olympics at age 12.