A 12-year-old Chinese swimmer has qualified for the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore after posting times that rank among the world's best this season. Yu Zidi's performance at China's national championships earned her a place at the global event, which began on 11 July and runs until 3 August at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.
Yu's 200m butterfly time was one of the fastest globally this year and would have narrowly missed an Olympic medal in 2024. She also recorded a competitive time in the 400m individual medley, close to Olympic podium pace. Her times are quicker than Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh at the same age; McIntosh, now 18, holds world records in both medley events and won three Olympic golds last year.
Yu began training at age six and is based at the Hebei Taihua Jinye Swimming Club, south of Beijing. She specialises in longer, technical events such as the medley and butterfly. Speaking to China's Xinhua news agency, she said: 'My age is currently an advantage. I hope to grow and develop more strength in the future. I really want to experience the world-class competition.'
World Aquatics regulations typically require swimmers to be at least 14 to compete, but Yu met elite performance standards that bypass the age threshold. Teenage standouts are not new in swimming: American Katie Ledecky was 15 when she won Olympic gold in 2012, and Japan's Kyoko Iwasaki remains the youngest individual Olympic gold medallist at 14 in 1992. In 2015, Bahrain's Alzain Tareq competed at the world championships aged 10 but did not advance past heats, leading to tightened qualification standards.
Yu will make her international debut in three events: the 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley, and 400m individual medley, facing some of the sport's biggest names.
