13-year-old Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi wins Asian Games gold with record-breaking time

Thirteen-year-old Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi has won gold in the women’s 200m butterfly at the Asian Games, setting a new Games record with a performance she described as “only so-so”.

Yu clocked 2:05.08 to claim the gold medal on the opening day of the competition, taking almost half a second off the previous Asian Games record set by compatriot Zhang Yufei three years ago.

She won the race by more than three seconds ahead of her Chinese teammate Chang Mohan.

Despite her record-breaking performance, Yu said she believed she could have done better, particularly with her butterfly technique.

“It was only so-so,” the teenager said with a smile after receiving her medal, adding that her butterfly technique was “still slightly lacking”.

“I hope I can swim even faster. I improved my time by 0.9 seconds here, and I believe I will perform better next time,” she added.

The victory marks Yu’s first major individual gold medal and adds to the growing attention surrounding the young swimmer ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Yu will compete in two more individual events at the Asian Games.

She previously made history at the World Championships last year when, aged 12, she became the youngest swimmer to win a medal at the competition after helping China secure bronze in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay.