Yu Zidi is a 12-year-old Chinese swimmer who is making her debut at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.
Yu is the second youngest competitor in the history of the championships and in her debut event she reached the final of the 200m individual medley.
Yu, who took up swimming at the age of six after meeting a coach during a family trip to a water park, finished fourth and only outside the medals by 0.06 seconds.
Ahead of the 2024 Olympics, Yu attempted to qualify as part of China’s team at the games for the 400m individual medley event, but finished just under two-and-a-half seconds outside of the qualifying time.
During the Chinese swimming trials earlier this year, Yu’s 400m individual medley time of 4:35.53 would have positioned her fourth in the same event at the Paris Games.
Yu has been trained by team-mate and Olympic medallist Li Bingjie, who is her idol. Li has also been described by Yu’s “older sister”.
As well as competing in the 200m individual medley at the Singapore Sports Hub, Yu is also taking part in the 200m butterfly event.
In May, Yu was hailed a “sensation” by World Aquatics on social media after she set a world record for a 12-year-old in the 200m individual medley with a time of 2:10.63.
Yu’s age has sparked debate about whether young athletes should be allowed to compete at the elite level.
Typically at the World Aquatics Championships competitors must be at least 14, but Yu was permitted entry because of her times meeting the association’s ‘A’ standard.
The topic was discussed on My Newspaper Radio 5 Live with four-time world champion Karen Pickering and Olympic bronze medallist Steve Parry offering differing opinions.
“To see a youngster go in the events she is doing is on the one hand astonishing, but it does slightly raise the question of how long has she been training hard? What kind of training is she doing? What is that doing to her physically?” Pickering said.
“I worry about what it’s doing physically to a child doing that amount of training at that age. We’ve seen it with gymnasts that are pushed too young and the impact it has on their body long-term.”
Sharron Davies was just 13 when she represented Great Britain at the 1976 Olympics and went on to win silver at the 1980 Games.
“I see it as a really positive story at the moment,” Parry said of Yu’s achievement.
“It’s a young girl who is 12 years of age and it’s right we are asking questions, but I got spanked by a 15-year-old Michael Phelps in Sydney and he went on to be the greatest swimmer we’ve ever seen.
“You can have youngsters, whether it be Sharron Davies, Yu or Katie Ledecky, but we have got to take care of their mental health and make sure they aren’t being pushed too much physically.
“These young proteges should be celebrated.”
This article is the latest from My Newspaper Sport’sAsk Me Anythingteam.
Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your questions.
We want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you do.
The team will find out everything you need to know and be able to call upon a network of contacts including our experts and pundits.
We will be answering your questions from the heart of the My Newspaper Sport newsroom, and going behind the scenes at some of the world’s biggest sporting events.
Our coverage will span the My Newspaper Sport website, app, social media and YouTube accounts, plus My Newspaper TV and radio.
What are cooling jackets and how do they work?
Ask Me Anything – your cricket questions answered
How did Bronze play Euro 2025 with fractured tibia?
Can a batter have a runner in Test cricket?
