Who is Yu Zidi, China’s 13-year-old swimming sensation?

EXPLAINERThe teen phenomenon won her second gold medal in the 200m medley in 2:06.10 to set a new Games and Asian record.Winner China's Yu Zidi waves as she arrives to attend the victory ceremony of the women's 200m individual medley swimming event during the 2026 Asian Games at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo on September 21, 2026 [AFP]Published On 21 Sep 2026China’s 13-year-old swimming sensation Yu Zidi has smashed her second Asian Games record in as many days, with her time of 2:06.10 in the women’s 200m individual medley doubling as a new Asian record.The teen prodigy made waves last year when, aged 12, she became the youngest-ever medallist at the World Swimming Championships.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Asian Games: Opening ceremony offers respite amid mounting complaintslist 2 of 4Olympic athletes to get cash grants from new $100m fund created by IOClist 3 of 4IOC lifts suspension, paves way for Russians to compete at LA 2028 Olympicslist 4 of 4Swimming: Pallister stuns Ledecky in Pan Pacs, Douglass sets world recordend of listTuesday’s win and record saw Zidi cement her status as one of swimming’s greatest teenagers and a dominant force at the ongoing Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan.So who is Yu Zidi, and what else can we expect from her? Al Jazeera Sport explains.Who is Yu Zidi?The swimming sensation was born in Baoding, China, on October 16, 2012. She was noticed by a swimming coach as a six-year-old when her father took her to a water park to cool off in the summer.How has Zidi performed at the Asian Games?Zidi has reclaimed her Asian record in the 200m individual medley (IM) from defending champion and compatriot Yu Yiting, who clocked 2:06.82 in June and finished second on Tuesday with 2:07.99, while Japan’s Narita Mio finished third in 2:10.40.The 13-year-old now holds the Asian Games record, the Asian record, and the second-fastest 200m medley of all time – just 0.40 seconds off the 2:05.70 world record set by Canadian Summer McIntosh, another former teen phenomenon in the sport who Zidi considers her idol.Zidi’s gold in the 200m IM adds to her 200m Butterfly win a day earlier, where her 2:05.08 smashed the Games record of 2:05.57 set by compatriot Yufei Zhang at the Hangzhou 2023 Asian Games.Zhang, a multiple-time Olympic, World and Asian Games champion, was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) at Hangzhou 2023 alongside compatriot Qin Haiyan for her record six gold medals. She picked up her first gold at Aichi-Nagoya in the women’s 4x100m Freestyle relay when China stormed to victory in 3:33.10.What did she say about her wins?“Very excited, very happy. It’s an achievement that shows the hard work of our team,” said Zidi. “I’m happier with the second gold medal than the first.”She added about 21-year-old teammate Yiting: “She’s a strong opponent who motivates me to improve and work harder.”Despite winning gold on her Asian debut, Zidi said her 200m freestyle performance “was only so-so”, adding hopes to go faster in the future.“My technique is still slightly lacking. I need to lower my head earlier, reach further forward and improve the movement of my legs. Those are all areas that I need to work on.”Will Zidi win more medals at the Asian Games?Most likely, yes. Zidi can add a third individual gold on Wednesday in the 400m IM.The teenager, however, is not listed in China’s roster for the women’s 4x200m Freestyle relay scheduled for Thursday.Zidi celebrates after winning the final of the women’s 200m individual medley swimming event during the 2026 Asian Games at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo on September 21, 2026 [AFP]When did Zidi burst to stardom?Zidi became swimming’s newest prodigy when she won bronze as a 12-year-old as part of China’s 4x200m freestyle relay team at the 2025 World Swimming Championships in Singapore in August.She followed up her laurels at the Chinese National Swimming Championships later in the year with two golds, one silver, and an Asian record in the 200m IM.Although World Aquatics requires swimmers to be at least 14 years of age, Zidi was allowed to participate after meeting the association’s “A” standard times that she clocked at the Chinese National Swimming Championships in May last year.What have other swimming greats said about her?Siobhan Haughey, Hong Kong’s first Olympic medallist in swimming, said Zidi’s dominance in a wider trend in the sport.“I think the general consensus is we have more and more great young swimmers swimming well,” said Haughey, now a relative veteran at 28.“When Summer first started, she was also very young and swimming fast, so I think that’s kind of the trend these days.“Hopefully, swimming well that young, you can also translate to as you get older and well into your 20s and beyond, so it’s exciting for the swimming world,” she added.Haughey said the evidence suggests that Yu is “definitely capable of going to the LA Olympics”.“I think she’s doing well under pressure at big meets,” she said. “I think if she wants to do it, she definitely can.”