China’s 13-year-old swimming phenom Yu Zidi captured her first major international gold medal on the opening day of the Asian Games, setting a new record in the women’s 200m butterfly. Competing in Tokyo, Yu clocked a time of 2 minutes 05.08 seconds, knocking nearly half a second off the previous mark set by compatriot Zhang Yufei at the 2023 Games.
Yu dominated the final, finishing more than three seconds ahead of her teammate Chang Mohan. The victory cements her status as a rising star in the sport, with strong predictions that she will be a significant contender at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Despite the historic performance, the young swimmer remained humble about her result. “It was only so-so,” Yu said with a smile after receiving her medal, noting that her butterfly technique still requires refinement. She added that she improved her previous best time by 0.9 seconds and expressed confidence in achieving even faster times in the future.
Yu is scheduled to compete in two additional individual events during the remainder of the Asian Games. Her emergence follows a remarkable year in which she made history at the World Championships last year. At just 12 years old, she became the youngest swimmer ever to win a medal at the event, securing bronze as a member of China’s 4x200m freestyle relay team.
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