Yu Zidi: China’s fearless swimming prodigy, 13, with Olympics in her sights

Yu Zidi, a 13-year-old Chinese swimming prodigy, is making waves in the world of competitive swimming and eyeing the Olympic Games. Last year, at the age of 12, she became the youngest-ever medallist at the swimming world championships. Now a teenager, she is a key player in China's bid for Asian Games domination and has Olympic glory on her radar.

At the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Yu helped China secure a spot in the women's 200m freestyle relay final, although she did not swim in the final. She came third overall, earning a historic bronze medal for her performance in the heats. In the 200m and 400m individual medley events, as well as the 200m butterfly, Yu finished in fourth place.

In November, Yu set an Asian record with a time of 2:07.41 in the women's 200m medley during China's National Games. Having just turned 13, she expressed her excitement for her debut at the Asian Games, stating that she would "train well, don't slack off, and demonstrate the level of your training and work hard to break past yourself".

Though Yu's coach, Ha Sinan, once described her as "a newborn calf fearless of tigers", the teenager has spoken about struggling with the heavy pressure placed on her. Yu, who grew up in Baoding, about 150 kilometers south of Beijing, started swimming at the age of six and has managed to balance her schoolwork with training.

During the preparation for the National Games, Yu expressed feeling tired and overwhelmed by the pressure to win the 400m medley, describing it as "like a big stone that weighed on me and made it hard to breathe". Her coach encouraged her to persevere and believe in herself, which she ultimately did, winning four medals at the National Games. Despite the high expectations and scrutiny surrounding her young success, Yu remains focused on her dream of winning a medal at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.