Yu Zidi, 12-year-old Chinese swimmer out to interrupt 89-year previous report in Singapore

While a gold medal is likely to be out of attain – Canadian star Summer McIntosh is the favorite in all three – Yu shall be battling for silver or bronze.

The teen signalled she could possibly be a real podium menace, particularly within the 200m butterfly, the place her private greatest of two:08.83 places her because the fourth quickest on this planet this 12 months.

In the 400m particular person medley, Yu clocked 4:35.53 on the Chinese trials – a time that will have completed fourth finally 12 months’s Olympics and is inside placing distance of a medal primarily based on international kind in 2025.

Yu’s 400m particular person medley time is 15 seconds quicker than McIntosh’s on the identical age.

She would wish an enormous drop in her 200m particular person medley private greatest to choose up a report, however her price of enchancment has been speedy.

Remarkably, Yu’s instances in all three occasions are quicker than these recorded by Australia’s athletes at trials.

Under World Aquatics guidelines, swimmers should usually be at the very least 14 to compete at senior world championships, however Yu’s qualifying instances granted her an exemption to race.

The solely youthful swimmer to compete on the meet was Bahrain’s Alzain Tareq, who raced at age 10 in 2015 beneath looser qualifying requirements, however didn’t progress previous the heats.

Japan’s Kyoko Iwasaki stays the youngest Olympic gold medallist in swimming historical past, successful the 200m breaststroke at Barcelona 1992 at age 14.

Yu trains on the Hebei Taihua Jinye Swimming Club south of Beijing and took up the game aged six after an opportunity encounter with a coach throughout a household journey to a water park.

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“The summer was too hot, and my dad took me to the water park,” Yu informed 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 competitors within the heats of the ladies’s 200m particular person medley.

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