At just 12 years old, China’s Yu Zidi has made history by becoming the youngest-ever medalist at the World Aquatics Championships, earning bronze in the women’s 4x200-meter freestyle relay.
Although Yu did not swim in the final, her performance in the preliminary heat helped China qualify — making her eligible for the medal under competition rules. China clocked 7:42.99 in the final, finishing behind gold medalists Australia and silver medalists USA, News.Az reports, citing CNN.
Yu has also impressed in her individual events, narrowly missing out on medals twice this week. In the 200m butterfly, she placed 4th, just 0.31 seconds behind Australia’s Elizabeth Dekkers. In the 200m medley on Monday, she finished 0.06 seconds behind bronze medalist Mary-Sophie Harvey of Canada.
She’ll have one more chance to step onto the podium individually in the 400m medley on Sunday, with both heats and the final scheduled for the same day.
Yu’s breakout performance has reignited debate over age eligibility in elite swimming. World Aquatics currently requires athletes to be at least 14 years old to compete in the World Championships, but exceptions are allowed for extraordinary qualifiers like Yu.
“I didn’t think I’d have this conversation, but now I think we have to go back and say, ‘Is this appropriate?’” said Brent Nowicki, Executive Director of World Aquatics. “Do we need to put guardrails up? Do we allow it under certain conditions? I don’t know the answer yet.”
As the global swimming community marvels at Yu Zidi’s talent, questions about youth athlete welfare, fairness, and eligibility standards are likely to take center stage in the months ahead.
