12-year-old Chinese swimmer sets 200m record

Yu Zidi, a 12-year-old swimmer from China, set the fastest time ever recorded in the 200-meter individual medley by a male or female in that age group.

Yu posted a personal record of 2 minutes, 10.63 seconds at the Chinese Nationals on Monday, taking second place in a race won by 2024 Olympic finalist Yu Yiting. Yu's time would have been good enough to reach the semifinals at last year's Paris Olympics and could position her to be included on China's team for this year's World Championships in Singapore that begin in July.

Yu swam her semifinal race in a personal best of 2:12.52, then smashed that time in the finals to set the record for the fastest ever 12-year-old in the event, per global governing body World Aquatics. For comparison, the United States records in the age group were both set in 2019 by Teagan O'Dell (2:18.69) and Richard Poplawski (2:13.59).

As an 11-year-old in April 2024, Yu swam the 400m individual medley in 4:40.97, falling just two seconds shy of qualifying for Paris.

Yu doesn't turn 13 until October.

"In 2024 I participated in some competitions, achieved some results, and many swimming fans recognized me," she told Chinese media earlier this year, per the Inquirer.

"After experiencing major competitions, I understood even better the importance of doing well in every training session to achieve good results and have a strong heart."

--Field Level Media