History made! Yu Zidi, 12-year-old swimming sensation becomes youngest medalist at World Aquatics Championships

China’s swimming sensation Yu Zidi has already made waves in the swimming world, but the 12-year-old etched her name into history. Yu became the youngest-ever medalist at the competition after being part of the China’s bronze winning medal team in the women’s 4x200-meter freestyle relay. While she didn’t swim in the final, Yu played a crucial role in the preliminaries, helping her team secure a spot in the medal race and thus qualifying for a medal.

Australia’s quartet of Lani Pallister, Jamie Perkins, Brittany Castelluzzo, and Mollie O’Callaghan secured gold with a time of 7:39.35. The United States took silver in 7:40.01, while China finished third in 7:42.99. Earlier in the day, Yu came agonizingly close to an individual podium finish in the women’s 200m butterfly, missing bronze by just 0.31 seconds to Australia’s Elizabeth Dekkers. Yu will have one final shot at individual glory in Singapore when she competes in the women’s 400m medley on Sunday (August 3), with both the heats and final scheduled that day.

Who is Yu Zidi?

At just 12 years old, Yu Zidi is already making waves in international swimming circuit. The Chinese sensation is competing in her first-ever World Aquatics Championships in Singapore — becoming the second-youngest competitor in the event’s history — and has already delivered a performance well beyond her years.

In her debut race, the 200m individual medley, Yu finished fourth, missing out on a bronze medal by a razor-thin 0.06 seconds. Her time of 2:09.21 was more than a second faster than her previous best, and astonishingly, over nine seconds quicker than the U.S. girls’ national age-group record for 11-12-year-olds. She’s also faster than the boys’ record in that age bracket by three seconds. Yu’s swimming journey began at six when she met a coach during a family trip to a water park. Her rapid rise has been guided by Olympic medallist Li Bingjie — Yu’s idol and mentor — who she affectionately calls her “older sister.” Despite most World Championship swimmers needing to be at least 14, Yu qualified early by meeting the competition’s elite “A” standard.

Last year, Yu narrowly missed qualifying for the Paris Olympics in the 400m individual medley, falling just over two seconds short. But at the 2024 Chinese Nationals, her 4:35.53 would have placed fourth in the Olympic final. In May, she shattered the 12-year-old world record in the 200m IM with a 2:10.63, prompting World Aquatics to hail her as a “sensation.”

While the 200m IM is considered only her third-best event — behind the 200m butterfly and 400m IM — Yu’s fearless debut has made her a medal contender in the days ahead. “She’s phenomenally talented at such a young age,” American silver medallist Alex Walsh was quoted saying in an interview. “It’ll be exciting to see how she builds on this meet because her future is incredibly bright.”