A Chinese swimmer born in 2012 is ready to break an 89-year-old record

A 12-year-old Chinese swimmer who took up the sport in 2019 after being approached at an amusement park pool is hoping to become the youngest medallist at an international meet in 89 years next week.

Yu Zidi, born in October 2012, will become one of the youngest swimmers ever to contest a major international meet when she lines up in three events at the World Aquatics Championships from July 27 to August 3.

Yu made headlines last year as an 11-year-old after falling two seconds short of making the cut to represent China at the Paris Olympics.

Just over a year later, Yu has earned selection on China’s national team and will compete in three events in Singapore – the women’s 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley and 400m individual medley races.

To put her youth in perspective, Australian veteran Cam McEvoy had already swum at his first Olympics — London 2012 — before Yu was born.

Not since the 1936 Berlin Olympics has a swimmer won an international medal at a younger age.

That honour belongs to Denmark’s Inge Sorensen, who picked up a bronze medal less than a month after turning 12.

Yu turned heads once again at the recent Chinese trials this year by clocking big personal bests in the three events she has qualified for.

While a gold medal might be out of reach – Canadian star Summer McIntosh is the favourite in all three – Yu will be battling for silver or bronze.

Chinese 12-year-old swimmer Yu Zidi.Credit: Twitter

The youngster signalled she could be a genuine podium threat, especially in the 200m butterfly, where her personal best of 2:08.83 puts her as the fourth fastest in the world this year.

In the 400m individual medley, Yu clocked 4:35.53 at the Chinese trials – a time that would have finished fourth at last year’s Olympics and is within striking distance of a medal based on global form in 2025.

Yu’s 400m individual medley time is 15 seconds faster than McIntosh’s at the same age.

She would need a big drop in her 200m individual medley personal best to pick up a record, but her rate of improvement has been rapid.

Remarkably, Yu’s times in all three events are faster than those recorded by Australia’s athletes at trials.

Under World Aquatics rules, swimmers must normally be at least 14 to compete at senior world championships, but Yu’s qualifying times granted her an exemption to race.

The only younger swimmer to compete at the meet was Bahrain’s Alzain Tareq, who raced at age 10 in 2015 under looser qualifying standards, but did not progress past the heats.

Japan’s Kyoko Iwasaki remains the youngest Olympic gold medallist in swimming history, winning the 200m breaststroke at Barcelona 1992 at age 14.

Yu trains at the Hebei Taihua Jinye Swimming Club south of Beijing and took up the sport aged six after a chance encounter with a coach during a family trip to a water park.

“The summer was too hot, and my dad took me to the water park,” Yu 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.

“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.”

Yu will make her debut on the opening day of competition in the heats of the women’s 200m individual medley.

World Aquatics Championships Singapore. Exclusive, live and free on the 9 Network and 9Now.