The Chinese team finished third in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay final on 31/7 at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships, with a time of 7 minutes 42.99 seconds.

Yu Zidi did not participate in the final, but still received a bronze medal for her contribution in the qualifying round. Australia won the event in 7 minutes 39.35 seconds, while the United States took silver with a time of 7 minutes 40.01 seconds.

Zidi competing in the 200m individual medley at the world championships on 28/7. Photo: AP

At 12 years and 292 days old, Zidi became the youngest swimmer ever to win a medal at the world championships. She broke the record previously held by Allison Higson, who won bronze in the breaststroke at the 1986 world championships at the age of 13 years and 158 days.

Zidi narrowly missed the podium in two individual events, finishing 4th in both the 200m butterfly and the 200m individual medley. She also competed in the 400m individual medley.

Born on 16/10/2012 in Baoding, Hebei, northern China, Zidi’s swimming journey began at age 6 during a recreational visit to a water park with her father, where a coach encouraged her to pursue the sport professionally. At the Chinese National Championships in May, Zidi won silver in the 200m individual medley with a time of 2 minutes 10.63 seconds. This performance secured her place at the world championships.

While the world championships typically require athletes to be at least 14 years old, Zidi qualified due to her "A-standard" times. Experts have compared her to swimming prodigies like Summer McIntosh (world champion at 15), Katie Ledecky (Olympic gold medalist at 15), and Kyoko Iwasaki (Olympic gold medalist at 14).

However, the transition from junior to senior level in swimming is notoriously challenging. Statistics from the UK show that only 6.9% of junior stars go on to win Olympic gold medals, and conversely, only 24% of senior athletes have competed in junior finals.

Thanh Quy (according to ESPN)