Overview

• Yu Zidi completed the women’s 200m individual medley in 2:09.00 at the Singapore World Championships, missing the bronze medal by 0.06 seconds.
• At 12 years old, she is the youngest swimmer to reach a world championship final since Japan’s Kyoko Iwasaki in 1991.
• In May at the Chinese Nationals, Yu clocked 2:10.63 to set the fastest 200m IM ever by a 12-year-old, and at 11 she posted a 4:35.53 in the 400m IM that would have ranked fourth at Tokyo 2020.
• The Chinese Swimming Federation sent a notably youthful squad to Singapore as part of its post-2024 doping scandal overhaul and long-term preparation for Los Angeles 2028.
• Australian coach Michael Bohl lauded her tactical maturity in the pool, even as experts weigh the physical and psychological pressures of early elite competition.