Yu led from start to finish in the women's 200m butterfly event at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre on 20/9, clocking a time of 2 minutes, 5,8 seconds. This performance broke the ASIAD record set by her compatriot Zhang Yufei in Hangzhou three years ago.

Yu Zidi competes in the women's 200m butterfly final at ASIAD 2026 in Tokyo Aquatic Centre, Japan on 20/9/2026. Photo: Reuters

In the morning heats, Yu was 3 seconds faster than Japan's Chiho Mizuguchi, who placed second. In the evening final, she also finished 3 seconds ahead of the runner-up, her teammate Chang Mohan, with a time of 2 minutes, 8,44 seconds.

"Just normal", Yu said with a smile after receiving her ASIAD 2026 medal. "I hope I can swim even faster. I improved my time by 0,9 seconds here and believe I will perform better next time".

According to Yu, her technique "is still a bit lacking". The swimmer also admitted there are areas she needs to improve: "I need to drop my head sooner, extend my arms further, and refine my leg movements".

Yu's career has advanced rapidly. She was born on 16/10/2012 in Baoding, Hebei province. A trip to a water park to escape the heat with her father in summer 2018, when Yu was just six years old, inadvertently opened the door to swimming.

"That summer was very hot, so I went to the water park with my dad", Yu recalled. "The summer holiday was long, I frequently visited swimming pools, and that's when a coach discovered me".

Yu's "exceptionally good feel for the water" caught the attention of a swimming coach, who invited her to join the team. While many peers were still afraid of water, Yu could already float and possessed remarkably fluid movements.

Yu Zidi celebrates on the podium after winning the women's 200m butterfly final. Photo: Reuters

Under the guidance of her first coach, Li Chao, Yu progressed quickly after receiving formal training. At 10 years and five months old, she entered the top 10 in China for the 400m individual medley. After only four years of systematic training, Yu achieved national first-level athlete status at 12 years old, then was selected for the second-tier training squad of the Hebei provincial swimming team.

At the team, Yu often receives guidance from her teammate Li Bingjie, an Olympic medalist. Last weekend, Li also easily won gold and successfully defended her 1,500m freestyle title with a time of 15 minutes, 53,52 seconds.

Yu and Li Bingjie are close, with Yu looking up to the 24-year-old senior as an idol and often calling her "sister". Training with Li at the Hebei team provides Yu with additional motivation and learning opportunities. Whenever she faces difficulties in training, Yu often receives dedicated guidance and shared experiences from Li.

A series of achievements at both junior and professional levels in 2024 demonstrated Yu's potential, but her path to progress was not entirely smooth. She once considered quitting swimming before the national championships in April 2024.

"The dual pressure from training and studying exhausted me", Yu expressed. "Fortunately, with encouragement from my coaches, teammates, friends, and parents, I realized that swimming had become an indispensable part of my life and I simply couldn't live without it. I often encouraged myself that if I just trained hard, I would achieve good results".

Yu was right, and the next 12 months became a turning point in her career. At the national championships in May 2025, when she was just 12 years old, she was the fastest in her age group – including both male and female competitors – in the 200m individual medley. Afterward, at the world championships in Singapore, she contributed to China reaching the final of the women's 4x200m freestyle relay.

Yu Zidi competes at the world championships in Singapore in 2025. Photo: AFP

Although she did not compete in the final, where China won a bronze medal, Yu still earned a historic bronze and became the youngest athlete to win a medal at the world championships.

After finishing outside the top three in three other events in Singapore – the 200m butterfly, 200m, and 400m individual medley – Yu went on to win three gold medals at the National Sports Festival in November, in her debut appearance. There, she broke a 13-year-old Asian record in the 200m individual medley with a time of 2 minutes, 7,41 seconds.

The previous record belonged to Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen, who set the mark at the London 2012 Olympics on 31/7/2012. When Ye broke the record, Yu had not even been born and would be born 78 days later.

However, Yu's Asian record was later broken by her compatriot Yiting Yu in June. The Zhejiang province swimmer improved the time by 0,59 seconds. The current Asian record in the women's 200m butterfly is 2 minutes, 1,81 seconds, held by the retired Chinese swimmer Liu Zige, set in Jinan in 2009.

Yu has shortened her best time in this event by 0,63 seconds. However, a gap of several seconds to the Asian record remains a significant challenge for her at present.

Yu will turn 14 next month and is aiming for Liu's record. If she can break the 2 minutes, 1,81 seconds mark that has stood for 17 years, her next goal could be the world record currently held by Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh, who set the time in July. This mark is 0,16 seconds faster than Liu's Asian record.

When the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic swimming events commence at SoFi Stadium in California on 16/7/2028, Yu will still be three months shy of her 16th birthday.

Hong Duy (according to SCMP)