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Associated Press

Yu Zidi of China is only 12 years old and will race at the World Swimming Championships later this month in Singapore.
But her age is only part of the picture. Not only is Yu very young, but her times in three events this year are also among the best in the world.
And here is the kicker: those times would have been very close to medals in last year’s Paris Olympics. And she is not yet a teenager.
“I think it’s a great story. I don’t know where it will lead,” said Greg Meehan, the national team director for the American squad in Singapore.
The world is watching
As promising young swimmers do, Yu is clocking personal bests almost each time she competes. Her PBs are more than just confidence boosters; they put her in sight of records, medals and stardom.

Yu has qualified in the 200- and 400-metre individual medleys, and the 200m butterfly. She could win a medal in all three.
Her time of two minutes, 10.63 seconds in the 200 IM at the Chinese championships in May was the fastest ever by a 12-year-old swimmer – male or female – according to World Aquatics, the global governing body of the sport.
That was only the start. Her time of 2:06.83 in the 200 butterfly in the same meet would have placed her fourth in last year’s Paris Olympics. It was the fifth-fastest time in the world this year and would have been good enough for gold at the 2024 World Championships.
To cap off the national championships, she swam 4:35.53 in the 400 IM – the fifth-fastest time of the year in that event. That also would have been good for fourth place last year at the Olympics, just 0.6 seconds behind bronze medallist Emma Weyant of the United States.
Faster than McIntosh at 12
The 400 IM is dominated by 18-year-old Canadian Summer McIntosh, who holds the world record of 4:23.65 and the 200 IM mark of 2:05.70. McIntosh is a generational talent, the winner of three gold medals in Paris.
By comparison, Yu at 12 is swimming roughly 15 seconds faster in the 400 IM than McIntosh did at 12, and about 12 seconds faster in the 200 IM. In a 50m pool, 12 to 15 seconds would be a half-lap of the pool, depending on the event.
Yu is not the first young swimmer to excel, but it is how she’s doing it – the stunning times and the promise of more to come.
Started out as fun
Yu said she began swimming at six in a water amusement park.
“The summer was too hot, and my dad took me to the water park,” she told China’s official Xinhua News Agency. “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.”
The rest is history, as they say, as she explained her event preference.

“Since I am not competitive in the sprint events, I have to choose the 400m individual medley and the 200m butterfly as my favourites,” Yu told Xinhua. “My age is currently an advantage and I hope to grow and develop more strength in the future.”
Yu trains at the Hebei Taihua Jinye Swimming Club in Hengshui City, south of Beijing in Hebei Province.
Looking to LA Olympics
If Yu were to win Olympic gold in three years in Los Angeles, she would be 15. But that would not make her the youngest swimmer to take gold.
Kyoko Iwasaki of Japan was 14 years and six days old when she won gold in the 200m breaststroke at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
“I have no idea what it’s like to compete abroad,” Yu told Xinhua. “I really want to experience the world-class competition.”
The world is watching.


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All eyes on Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi, 12, who takes stunning times to world championships

Twelve-year-old Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi celebrates on the podium after winning the 400m individual medley at the National Swimming Championships in Shenzhen in May. Photo: AP

Yu Zidi at China’s National Swimming Championships in Shenzhen in May. Photo: AFP

Yu Zidi (left) and teammate Li Bingjie train together in the land training room at their swimming club. Photo: AP

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Brent Nowicki (left), World Aquatics’ executive director, and  Husain Al Musallam, the body’s president, at the opening press conference of the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on Thursday. Photo: EPA

Chinese breaststroke swimmer Qin Haiyang has been tested 12 times this year. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese actor Yu Shi wins 2 medals at national horseback archery competition

Chinese actor Yu Shi won two medals a national horseback archery competition on Wednesday. Photo: Handout

Sport

Other Sport

World will be eagerly watching preteen swimmer, whose times in May would have come close to winning medals at Paris Olympics last year


World will be eagerly watching preteen swimmer, whose times in May would have come close to winning medals at Paris Olympics last year.


All eyes on Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi, 12, who takes stunning times to world championships

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}World will be eagerly watching preteen swimmer, whose times in May would have come close to winning medals at Paris Olympics last year

The world is watching

World will be eagerly watching preteen swimmer, whose times in May would have come close to winning medals at Paris Olympics last year