Chinese swimmer reaches world championship final aged 12
China's swimmer Yu Zidi competes in the semi-finals of the women's 200m individual medley swimming event during the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on July 27, 2025.
SINGAPORE – Chinese swimming prodigy Yu Zidi surprised even herself after reaching the final of the 200m individual medley at the World Aquatics Championships (WCH) in Singapore on July 27.
The schoolgirl squeezed into the final at the WCH Arena in seventh place in 2min 10.22sec in what is not her best event.
Yu, who juggles swimming with her homework, is also competing in the 400m medley and the 200m butterfly against most of the best swimmers on the planet.
'I'm in? Oh, I'm happy about that and I will continue to work harder,' she said after realising she had made the final on July 28.
'I hope to find a breakthrough at these world championships and show my potential.'
Asked how it felt to be on the world stage, following some eye-catching performances at China's national championships, she said: 'It feels really good. How do I put it... it's much more than my expectations.
'You can feel it's quite intense. I try not to think so much, and just give it my all.'
Yu discovered swimming as a small child in order to escape China's fierce summer heat.
Yu, who turns 13 in October, previously told Chinese state media: 'I often went to cool off at swimming pools... (and) a coach discovered me.'
Olympic champion and world record holder Summer McIntosh qualified fastest for the 200m medley final in 2:07.39. REUTERS
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