A precocious talent, a child prodigy, a swimming star, and an unparalleled athlete. These were some of the attributes he received a few months ago China’s Yu Zidi At the age of 12, she won a bronze medal in the 4×200 freestyle relay at the World Championships in Singapore, tying the precocious record of Denmark’s Inge Sørensen, who at the same age was on the podium at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
Yu Zidi did not jump into the pool that day, but was part of the team in the previous round. Asian swimmers not only won medals; He was close to winning two more individual events.Because she finished fourth in both the 200 medley and 200 butterfly. The series of results shocked the swimming world and sparked a debate about the current competitive system and the exposure of young athletes.
But the Chinese sensation didn’t stop there. under 1 month after turning 13 years oldthe swimmer signed her for the first time asian record At the national swimming championships held in Shenzhen, she achieved an overwhelming victory in the 200-meter individual medley (IM).
A very young swimmer once again surprised everyone. The athlete stopped the clock at 2:07.41.He surpassed the Asian record set by his compatriot Ye Shiwen, who won the Olympic gold medal at the 2012 London Games at the age of 16 with a time of 2 minutes 07.57 seconds. Precocious swimmers outperformed precocious swimmers who were nowhere near their ceiling.
Yu finished nearly a second faster than 20-year-old Yu Yi-ting, the runner-up at the 2022 Asian Games. But this child prodigy’s accomplishments must be put into perspective. Only eight athletes have run faster at the event, and the world record is currently held by Canada’s Summer McIntosh at 2:05.70.
“Setting a new Asian record, 9th fastest in history“Some people doubt that the World Swimming Federation, which is responsible for regulating swimming standards at international level, would allow such young athletes to participate,” wrote a publication on social networks.
Public discussion on participation
World Swimming is not anticipating an incident like Yu Zidi’s and is considering strengthening regulations to protect minors. at the moment, The minimum age for competition is set at 14 years oldan exception that the Chinese have slipped through unless they reach the so-called A brand. “I never thought a 12-year-old girl could swim like that,” the federation’s executive director Brent Nowicki admitted at the Singapore World Championships. Until the changes are resolved, this swimmer continues to amaze the world and currently holds an Asian record.
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