Yu Zidi could make history on Monday, when the 12-year-old sensation races for her first medal at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. While Canadian world record holder Summer McIntosh, herself only 18 and an Olympic champion in the event, is the overwhelming favourite in the 200m individual medley final, Yu could become the youngest person to win a medal at an international event in 89 years. That accolade belongs to Denmark’s Inge Sorensen, who won bronze less than a month after turning 12 at the 1936 Berlin Olympics in the women’s 200m breaststroke. Even if Yu misses the podium on Monday, she still has the 200m butterfly and the 400m medley – her best event – to fall back on. The youngster could also be selected for the relays. Yu began to make waves in China in 2024, and within a year, she was among the fastest in the world in her three events. From hitting international headlines to qualifying for the world championships and being tutored by an Olympic champion, here is everything you need to know about the swimming sensation. Who is Yu Zidi? Yu was born on October 16, 2012, in Baoding, in the northern province of Hebei. She started swimming aged six when a coach spotted her at a local water park. “The summer was too hot, and my dad took me to the water park,” she state media. “I enjoyed the coolness of the water and spent much time in different small pools for kids. One day, a coach approached me and asked if I wanted to swim faster.” Three years later, she moved to neighbouring Hengshui to train at Hebei Taihua Jinye Swimming Club and joined the provincial team. Yu has competed in national competitions in China since 2023, but her times at May’s National Swimming Championships grabbed headlines all over the world. In the 200 individual medley, her time of 2:10.63 was the fastest ever by a 12-year-old swimmer – male or female – according to World Aquatics. Then, she put up two times that would have secured her fourth at the Paris Olympics last year. First, she hit 2:06.83 in the 200m butterfly. Then, in the 400 individual medley, she went 4:35.53 – the fifth-fastest time of the year in that event and just 0.6 seconds behind America’s bronze medallist, Emma Weyant. It was these times that earned her a spot at the world championships, and since joining the national team, she has been tutored by Olympic champion Li Bingjie. On Sunday, the first day of the championships in Singapore, she improved on her 200 individual medley personal best, hitting 2:10.22 to qualify for the final. “Her 400 IM time is 15 seconds faster than Summer McIntosh’s at the same age,” said China sports expert Mark Dreyer. “We haven’t seen much, but from what we’ve seen so far, Yu Zidi’s times aren’t just fast – they’re statistical anomalies. “She’s currently redefining the curve. If her trajectory holds, she could reshape how the world approaches youth development in swimming.” How far can she go? Already, it is hard to imagine Yu not just dominating discussions around the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, but podiums, too. Chinese media and fans have been quick to tout her as the new Ye Shiwen, who at age 16 won two gold medals at the London Olympics in 2012 and set a world record time of 4:28.43 in the 400m individual medley. But Ye’s performances dropped off massively after 2012, and injuries played a part in ensuring she did not win another Olympic medal. International swim coach and YouTuber Sonny Trigg said he hoped that Yu’s training, at such a young age, could be effectively managed to avoid any possibility of burnout. “You don’t want to be training 10 times a week when you’re 12,” Trigg said. “Being taken out of a youth environment and put in a senior one is going to have some effect in terms of how far she can get, but also in her enjoyment of the sport. “The type of burnout we get with kids is more of an emotional or mental burnout. “I don’t want to say she’s at risk of that, but there needs to be a level of enjoyment and fun when you’re taking part in sports as a child.”