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Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi debuted at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore Sunday as she competed in the 200 -meter individual medley. She is just 12 years old.
Yu is intended to compete in the 400 -meter individual medley and 200 meters butterfly.
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Yu Zidi from China is preparing to compete in the women’s 200-meter individual medley heat at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Sunday 27 July 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-Man)
She ended with a time of 2 minutes, 11.90 seconds in 200 im and went on to the semi -finals. Her time was the 15th fastest of the 16 qualifications.
Yu, born in October 2012, took swimming at the age of six.
“Summer was too hot and my dad took me to the water park,” she told China’s Xinhua news agency via the Sydney Morning Herald. “I enjoyed the coolness of the water and spent a lot of time in different little pools for kids. One day a trainer approached me and asked if I would swim faster.
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Yu Zidi from China competes in the women’s 200 meters individual medley heat at the World Cup in Aquatics in Singapore, Sunday 27 July 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
“My age is currently an advantage. I hope to grow and develop more strength in the future. I really want to experience world -class competition.”
World Aquatics’ cut -off age is 14 years old, but younger swimmers are allowed to compete if their times surpass a qualifying standard. Yu almost made the China Olympic team for Paris Games in 2024, but was a few seconds short.
Yu Zidi from China on the back of the women’s 200 meters individual medley heat at the World Cup in Aquatics in Singapore, Sunday 27 July 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-Man)
If Yu picks up a medal in any of the events, she would be the youngest swimmer since Denmark’s Inge Sorensen won a medal a month after turning 12 at Berlin -ol in 1936.
