Yu Zidi Chasing 89-Year-Old Mark for Youngest Medalist at a Global Championships
What are most 12-year-olds doing these days? Having sleepovers with friends. Attending summer camp. Enjoying family vacations.
Then there’s China’s Yu Zidi, who is a little more than three weeks away from stepping onto the starting blocks for the World Championships in Singapore. The 12-year-old, who won’t become a teenager until October, has been one of the leading storylines in the sport during the first half of 2025. Such is the spotlight after Yu qualified to contest the 200-meter butterfly, 200 individual medley and 400 individual medley at the 22nd edition of Worlds.
In the world rankings, Yu currently sits seventh in the 200 fly, 19th in the 200 IM and fifth in the 400 IM. Given her rapid ascension to world-class status, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Chinese youngster stood on the podium in one of her events. After breaking onto the international scene as an 11-year-old, Yu chopped sizable chunks of time from her personal bests at the Chinese National Championships. Further cuts are expected in Singapore, as Yu is on an improvement arc – thanks to her young age – that is steep.
If Yu can medal in one of her three individual events (she might see relay duty, too), she will match an age record that was achieved 89 years ago. At the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Denmark’s Inge Sorensen earned the bronze medal in the 200 breaststroke less than a month after turning 12 years old. Sorensen is the youngest swimmer to earn a medal in a global competition, and while Yu would be a few months older than the Dane, medaling at Worlds as a 12-year-old would be downright stunning.
In all three of Yu’s events, Canadian star Summer McIntosh will be the overwhelming favorite for gold. After all, McIntosh is the world-record holder in both medley events, and the No. 2 performer in history in the 200 butterfly. But Yu is certainly lurking for silver or bronze, especially since she’s already been 2:06.83 in the 200 fly and 4:35.53 in the 400 IM.
No, Yu’s 12-year-old summer won’t look like those of her fellow pre-teens, which is surely just fine for this rising star.
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