Explained: How 12-year-old Yu Zidi of China became youngest-ever medallist at World Swimming Championships despite age eligibility rules

Yu Zidi, a 12-year-old Chinese swimmer, has created history by becoming the youngest-ever medallist at the World Swimming Championships.

The record previously belonged to Canada’s Allison Higson who had won a bronze medal in the women’s 200m breaststroke event at the 1986 edition when she was 13 years 158 days old.

Yu took part in the heats of the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay but missed Thursday’s final in Singapore as she was replaced by Liu Yaxin. China clinched a bronze behind Australia and the United States.

Who is Yu Zidi?

Yu Zidi began swimming at 6 in a water amusement park.

“The summer was too hot, and my dad took me to the water park,” she told China’s official  Xinhua News Agency. “I enjoyed the coolness of the water and spent a lot of time in different small pools for kids. One day, a coach approached me and asked if I wanted to swim faster.”

She trains at the Hebei Taihua Jinye Swimming Club in Hengshui City, south of Beijing in Hebei Province.

Depending on the school system, the 12-year-old Yu is either in sixth or seventh grade.

How did she qualify for the World Championships?

Yu came into the limelight at China’s national championships in May where she met the ‘A’ standards for the Worlds.

She started the China championships by finishing second in the 200m individual medley behind Paris Olympian Yu Yiting in 2 minutes 10.63 seconds — the fastest time in history for her age group. She won the women’s 400m individual medley by almost two seconds in a time that would have been fast enough for a fourth-place finish at the Paris Olympics. The schoolgirl also won the 200m butterfly.

Is she the youngest swimmer ever to compete at the World Championships?

No, Yu is not the youngest swimmer ever to compete at the World Championships.

Alzain Tareq of Bahrain swam in the 2015 worlds at only 10. She finished last in her event.

What is the age limit for competing at World Championships?

According to World Aquatics, the global body running the sport, the swimmers must be at least 14 unless their times meet qualification ‘A’ standards. In effect, this means there is no age limit.

However, Yu’s performances have forced the World Aquatics to consider a re-evaluation of the age eligibility rules.

How has Yu performed at the World Championships in Singapore?

Yu competed in 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley and 4x200m freestyle relay events.

She recorded a new personal best in 200m butterfly (2:06.43s), finishing fourth and missing the bronze medal by 0.31s. Even in 200m individual medley (2:09.21s), she was fourth as she missed the bronze medal by 0.06s. But she eventually grabbed a historic bronze in the 4x200m relay event even though she participated only in the heats.

Can Yu become the youngest-ever swimmer to win an Olympic medal?

While Yu will only be 15 years old when the next Olympics take place in Los Angeles in 2028, she will not be able to become the youngest-ever swimmer to win a medal at the quadrennial showpiece.

That record belongs to Inge Sørensen of Denmark who won a bronze medal in the 200m breaststroke at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin when she was just 12 years old.

Can Yu become the youngest-ever Olympic gold medallist in swimming?

Kyoko Iwasaki of Japan was 14 years and 6 days old when she won gold in the 200m breaststroke at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Since Yu will be 15 at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, she won’t be able to break Iwasaki’s record.