Yu Zidi, 12 year old Chinese prodigy, to swim at 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore

Aussie defector Michael Bohl says he’s “never seen a 12-year-old that could swim like” Yu Zidi. This is the incredible story of how the swimming prodigy was discovered.

Yu Zidi discovered swimming as a small child in order to cool off and now aged just 12 the Chinese sensation will showcase her prodigious talents at the world championships from Sunday.

The schoolgirl with the cartoon dog themed swimming cap stunned the sport in May with a series of eye-popping times at China’s national championships.

Yu, who turns 13 in October, clocked a blistering 2min 10.63sec in the women’s 200m individual medley, the fastest time in history at that age.

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She then romped to victory in the 400m medley in 4:35.53, which would have been enough for fourth place at the Paris Olympics last summer.

Yu also triumphed in the 200m butterfly in another scarcely believable swim that would again have only narrowly missed out on a medal in Paris.

Her performances easily qualified her for the world championships in Singapore. Yu, who trains in the northern province of Hebei and juggles swimming with her school work, took up the sport as a means of escaping China’s searing heat.

“The summer that year was too hot, so I went to the water park with my dad,” she told the state news agency Xinhua.

Yu Zidi is set to compete at the World Championships.

The swim prodigy was discovered while using a pool to cool off.

“I often went to cool off at swimming pools … (and) a coach discovered me.” Swimming, homework and coping with the pressure of being China’s latest big sporting hope makes for a hectic schedule for the youngster.

“I am very busy every day and I don’t have much time, but it’s also very fulfilling,” Yu said, according to Xinhua.

Yu first came to national attention last year and drew comparisons at home to Ye Shiwen, who at 16 in London became the youngest Chinese swimmer to win a medal at the Olympics.

As well as her speed and stamina, Yu’s Hebei coach Li Chao has praised her “good sense” and said her focus “far exceeds her peers”.

Michael Bohl, China’s storied Australian swimming coach, went much further. “I’ve never seen a 12-year-old that could swim like this,” he told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV in May.

Qin Haiyang and Michael Bohl.

Zhang Yufei.

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Perhaps with an eye on the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, China have named their youngest squad for a swimming world championships, according to expert website SwimSwam.

Along with Yu, the headline acts in the squad are men’s 100m freestyle world record holder and Olympic champion Pan Zhanle, and Qin Haiyang and Zhang Yufei.

Qin cleaned up in the breaststroke at the worlds in 2023, only to fail to win a medal in individual events at the Paris Games last summer.

He did though win gold and silver in medley relays.

“Butterfly Queen” Zhang has won 10 Olympic medals, among them 200m fly gold at Tokyo in 2021.

China entered the Paris Olympics under a doping cloud following revelations that 23 of its swimmers had tested positive for a banned substance ahead of the Tokyo Games.

In April 2024, The New York Times and German broadcaster ARD said they had tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) at a domestic competition in late 2020 and early 2021.

Chinese anti-doping authorities determined the 23 had ingested trace amounts of the drug unwittingly from tainted food at their hotel.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accepted that explanation and did not sanction the swimmers, which led US anti-doping authorities to accuse WADA of a cover-up. WADA denies this.

Nine of the swimmers who failed doping tests are competing in Singapore, including Qin and Zhang.

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Lani Pallister on Saturday urged her young Australian teammates to “soak in the moment” at swimming’s world championships in Singapore with one eye on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The Australians won seven swimming golds at the Paris Olympics but several big names have since retired or are skipping this year’s world championships, which begin Sunday.

That has opened the door for 10 debutants and Pallister, who made her Olympic bow in Paris, urged them to make the most of the experience.

Ella Ramsay will compete in four events in Singapore.

“I think it’s important for those on the team this year to really soak in the moment and do their best,” said the 23-year-old.

“I don’t really think it’s about the medal table, I think in three years’ time is the bigger picture.”

Australia’s most successful Olympian, Emma McKeon, has hung up her goggles as have other stalwarts including Mitch Larkin, Brianna Throssell and Jenna Strauch.

Four-time Olympic gold medallist Ariarne Titmus — who lost her 400m freestyle world record to Canadian Summer McIntosh last month -— is on an extended break.

Eleven of Australia’s squad in Singapore are aged 20 or under.

Veteran Cameron McEvoy, who is appearing at his seventh world championship, said the Australians were a team in transition.

Sienna Toohey is one of the bolters on the Australian team.

“Things come and go, things change, you have to build up from time to time, you can’t be constantly at the top and only at the top,” said the 31-year-old, the 50m freestyle Olympic champion.

“We have the most rookies on our team that I’ve seen across my whole time, which is exciting too.”

At just 16, Sienna Toohey came from nowhere to qualify for the 50m and 100m breaststroke.

Australia also have high hopes for fellow newcomers Hannah Fredericks (200m backstroke) and Ben Goedemans (800m freestyle), while Ella Ramsay, 21, will contest four events.

“A lot of them are very young, they’ve got a lot of years ahead of them,” said McEvoy.

“Starting that three years out from the Olympics instead of, say, 2027, one year out, goes a long way too.”

Originally published as Yu Zidi, 12 year old Chinese prodigy, to swim at 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore