China's 12-year-old Yu Zidi began swimming to beat the heat, becomes youngest to win World Championships medal
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Yu competed in the heats of the women's 4x200m freestyle relay and received her medal as a team member. She also participated in the 200m butterfly final on Thursday, securing fourth place.
"It feels quite emotional, it's a nice feeling," Yu expressed after her historic achievement.
Her impressive performances in Singapore included a fourth-place finish in the 200m individual medley final, missing the podium by just 0.06 seconds in what is not considered her strongest event.
She is also set to compete in the 400m individual medley.
Yu, who will turn 13 in October, began swimming at age six to beat the heat during China's summer months. Her achievement has drawn comparisons to Denmark's Inge Sorensen, who won an Olympic bronze medal at age 12 in the 1936 Berlin Games.
However, her participation has sparked discussions within the sport regarding the physical and mental effects of high-level training on young athletes still in development.
Current World Aquatics rules set the minimum age at 14, but younger swimmers can compete in championships if they meet the qualifying standards, as Yu did.
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