China’s 13-year-old swimmer Yu Zidi won gold in the women’s 200-metre butterfly at the Asian Games, setting a new Games record with a time of 2:05.08.
At the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, Yu lowered the previous Asian Games record of 2:05.57, set by Chinese Olympic champion Zhang Yufei at the 2023 Asian Games. Yu finished more than three seconds ahead of compatriot Chang Mohan, while Japan’s Misa Okuzono took bronze.
Yu Zidi’s Record-Breaking Performance
Yu’s winning time of 2:05.08 marked a new benchmark for the event at the Asian Games. The teenager is due to turn 14 next month and has already competed at the highest level of international swimming.
She made history last year at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, where she became the youngest medallist in the competition’s history at the age of 12. She won a bronze medal as part of China’s relay team.
Despite securing her first individual Asian Games gold medal, Yu described her performance as “average” and said she wanted to swim faster.
She is scheduled to compete in two more individual events at the Games.