China's 13-year-old Yu scorches to first major gold at Asian Games

In Tokyo, China's 13-year-old swimmer Yu Zidi achieved a historic milestone by winning the gold medal in the women's 200m butterfly at the Asian Games. This marked her first major gold medal and solidified her position as a rising star in swimming. Yu, who will turn 14 next month, shattered the Asian Games record by completing the race in 2 minutes 05.08 seconds, shaving nearly half a second off the previous record set by China's Zhang Zufei in Hangzhou three years ago.

She outperformed her teammate Chang Mohan, who secured the silver medal with a time that was 3.36 seconds slower than Yu's.

This victory marked Yu's third individual event at the Asian Games, following her bronze medal win as a 12-year-old in the 4x200m freestyle relay team last year. She had also finished fourth in three world individual events earlier in her career. Yu has been making waves in the swimming world with her impressive performances, including a notable victory over American Olympic champion Regan Smith in March.

With her pixie haircut and growing reputation, Yu is expected to be a formidable competitor in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. However, she has expressed the challenges of handling the immense pressure that comes with her success, mentioning a time when the pressure to win the 400m medley nearly overwhelmed her. Her coach advised her to persevere and believe in herself, a sentiment that Yu carried with her to the National Games, where she won four medals.

Despite the concerns about the mental and physical impact of high-level training on young athletes like Yu, who is below the minimum age of 14 for international championships under World Aquatics rules, she continues to excel in her sport.