Young swimmers like China’s Yu good for the sport, says Haughey
TOKYO (Reuters) - The rise of China's teenage sensation Yu Zidi is emblematic of an exciting trend where younger swimmers are breaking through at the highest level, four-time Olympic medallist Siobhan Haughey said on Monday.
The ascent of China's teenage prodigy, Yu Zidi, underscores a promising trend of young swimmers achieving success at the world's highest level, according to four-time Olympic medallist Siobhan Haughey. At the age of 11, Yu narrowly missed qualifying for the Paris Games. However, she later won national titles in the 400m individual medley and 200 butterfly, as well as securing a spot in the 2025 world championships in Singapore.
At the Games, she became the youngest-ever medallist when she captured a bronze in China's 4x200m freestyle relay team. Yu also made history by winning gold in the women's 200 butterfly at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sunday, setting a Games record with a time of 2 minutes, 5.08 seconds.
Haughey, who won silver in the 100 and 200 freestyle events at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics, noted that the "general consensus is we have more and more great young swimmers swimming well." She cited Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh, who competed at the Tokyo Olympics at the age of 14 and went on to win three gold medals in Paris, as an example. Haughey added that the trend of young swimmers excelling at a young age is exciting for the swimming world and bodes well for the sport's future.
Written by urgent.news from The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
