China’s Yu Zidi, 12, wins relay bronze at world swimming championships | Swimming

Chinese 12-year-old Yu Zidi has received a bronze medal on the swim world championships, an astounding feat for a lady who could be a sixth- or seventh-grade pupil relying on the varsity system.

Yu earned the medal by swimming within the prelims of China’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay group. She didn’t swim within the remaining on Thursday – China positioned third behind successful Australia and the United States – however will get a bronze medal as a group member.

She’s been near successful a person medal, putting fourth in each the 200 butterfly and the 200 particular person medley. She nonetheless has the 400 IM to swim.

Brent Nowicki, the chief director of World Aquatics, mentioned the governing physique would take a look at its age-limit guidelines. The restrict is now 14, however athletes can attain the worlds in the event that they surpass a troublesome time customary.

“I didn’t think I’d have this conversation, but now I think we have to go back and say is this appropriate?” he mentioned this week in Singapore. “Is this really the right way to go forward and do we need to do other things? Put other guardrails up? Do we allow it under certain conditions? I don’t know the answer.”

He referred to as Yu “great”. He additionally mentioned officers needed to be “careful” in regards to the age concern.

Friday’s session will probably be lacking the 2 large stars of the meet thus far – France’s Léon Marchand and Summer McIntosh of Canada. Both don’t have any remaining swims.

Five finals have been set for Friday. Some of the eye will go to Evgenila Chikunova, swimming as a Neutral Athlete. She holds the world document within the 200 breaststroke the place has the highest time getting into the ultimate. The prime challenger is American Kate Douglass.

South African Pieter Coetze is the favourite within the males’s 200 backstroke. Yohann Ndoye-Brouard of France and Hurbert Kos of Hungary have been the following quickest qualifiers.

The different finals are within the girls’s 100 free, the boys’s 200 breaststroke, and the boys’s 4×200 relay.

McIntosh, Ledecky arrange 800m world title showdown

McIntosh and Katie Ledecky arrange a showdown for the ages in Singapore when each stars cruised into the 800m freestyle remaining on Friday.

American nice Ledecky, 28, is the undisputed grasp within the occasion, having received the title on the final 4 Olympics and updating her personal world document in May this yr.

But McIntosh, 10 years Ledecky’s junior, is within the temper to grab her crown as she appears to affix Michael Phelps as the one swimmer to win 5 particular person titles at a single world championships.

The 18-year-old Canadian has already bagged three golds from three occasions in Singapore and he or she clocked the third-fastest 800m freestyle time ever in June.

The different 9 occasions on the highest 10 all belong to Ledecky however McIntosh’s type suggests a altering of the guard may very well be on the playing cards.

Ledecky fired the primary photographs in Friday morning’s heats, qualifying for Saturday’s remaining quickest in a time of 8min 14.62sec, with McIntosh third in 8:19.88.

McIntosh mentioned she felt in good condition after successful 200m butterfly gold the earlier evening, and he or she had the remainder of the day and the next morning to get better earlier than the ultimate.

“I felt a lot better than I thought I was going to this morning,” McIntosh mentioned after her warmth.

“I’ve been recovering really well, probably the best I ever have in a big meet like this.

“We’re on day six so to feel like this is really promising.”

Ledecky made her worldwide breakthrough within the 800m free, successful gold on the 2012 London Olympics on the age of 15.

She went on to dominate the occasion for greater than a decade and confirmed that she nonetheless had lots to supply in June when she smashed her personal world document, which had stood since 2016.

McIntosh additionally headed to Singapore in red-hot type, breaking three world information in a matter of days on the Canadian trials in June.

McIntosh and Ledecky have already had their first head-to-head in Singapore, with McIntosh popping out on prime to win gold within the 400m free.

The Canadian is a relative newcomer to the 800m free however she safely negotiated the heats with the minimal of fuss.

“My goal was just to win my heat to pretty much secure that I’ll get a lane for tomorrow night’s final and do that with the least amount of energy possible,” she mentioned.

“I’m just trying to get through it because I’ve never really done 800 heats before so I don’t know what to expect.

“I’m just glad it’s over and done with now.”

Australia’s Lani Pallister and Italy’s Simona Quadarella will even hope to face on the rostrum after Saturday’s race however all eyes will probably be on Ledecky and McIntosh within the battle for gold.

“Having all those girls around me will definitely push me to a really good time and I’m really excited to race Katie tomorrow night,” mentioned McIntosh.