China’s Yu Zidi of China prepares to compete in the women’s 200-meter butterfly final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, on July 31, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP
China’s Yu Zidi said she felt “quite emotional” after the 12-year-old became the youngest swimmer in history to win a world championships medal.
Yu swam in the heats of the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay but missed Thursday’s (July 31, 2025) final as China claimed bronze behind Australia and the United States in Singapore.
Yu, who was competing in the women’s 200m butterfly final on Thursday (July 31, 2025) — finishing fourth — received a medal as a member of the Chinese relay team.
“It feels quite emotional, it’s a nice feeling,” she said.
Yu has turned heads with her performances in Singapore.
She qualified for Monday’s 200m individual medley final and finished fourth, missing out on a medal by just 0.06sec in what is not considered her strongest event.
She followed that up with another fourth in the 200m butterfly final and will also compete in the 400m individual medley.
Yu, who turns 13 in October, discovered swimming at age six as a way to cool off during China’s roasting summers.
She has drawn historical comparisons to Denmark’s Inge Sorensen, who at 12 was the youngest-ever winner of an Olympic swimming medal with bronze at the Berlin Games of 1936.
But not everyone thinks Yu should be competing in Singapore.
Some in the sport have raised questions about the mental and physical impacts of high-level training and competing at an age when she is still developing as a person.
Under current World Aquatics rules, the minimum age is 14 but younger swimmers can compete at the championships if — like Yu — they are fast enough.
Published – August 01, 2025 11:14 am IST
