China’s 13-year-old swimming sensation Yu Zidi has announced herself on the Asian Games stage with a record-breaking gold medal in the women’s 200m butterfly, adding another milestone to a remarkable rise in international swimming.
Yu Zidi stormed to victory at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on Sunday, September 20, winning the women’s 200m butterfly in 2 minutes 5.08 seconds and setting a new Asian Games record. The teenager finished more than three seconds ahead of compatriot Chang Mohan, who took silver in 2:08.44.
The performance marked the first major individual title of Yu’s young career. She also improved the previous Asian Games record of 2:05.57, set by fellow Chinese swimmer Zhang Yufei at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.
A remarkable rise at 13
Yu, who turns 14 in October, was already one of the most closely watched young swimmers in the world before arriving at the Asian Games. Last year, at just 12, she became the youngest medal winner in swimming World Championships history when she helped China win bronze in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay at the 2025 World Championships in Singapore. She also narrowly missed individual medals in three events, finishing fourth each time.
Her progress continued this year. In March, Yu recorded a notable victory over American Olympic champion Regan Smith, further establishing herself as one of the emerging names in international swimming.
Dominant performance in Tokyo
Yu entered the 200m butterfly final after posting the fastest qualifying time in the morning heats, finishing in 2:07.97 — 2.7 seconds ahead of the second-fastest qualifier, Chang. She then produced an even faster performance in the final, leading from the start and touching the wall in 2:05.08.
Despite the record and gold medal, Yu played down her performance after the race. “It was only so-so,” she said with a smile, according to The Guardian, while also expressing confidence that she could improve further.
Her comments reflected the approach she has taken throughout her rapid development. Yu has previously said that aspects of her technique still require improvement, including her head position, reach and leg movement.
China dominates the opening day
Yu’s victory was part of a dominant opening day for China in the swimming programme. Chinese swimmers won six of the seven swimming gold medals available on the first day of competition in Tokyo. Olympic champion Pan Zhanle also won the men’s 100m freestyle, narrowly defeating South Korea’s Kim Young-beom. The Asian Games swimming competition is being held at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, while the majority of the wider Games are taking place in Nagoya and across Aichi prefecture. The 2026 Asian Games officially opened on September 19, with athletes competing across more than 40 sports until the closing ceremony on October 4.
More events ahead
The 200m butterfly is only the beginning of Yu’s Asian Games campaign. She is scheduled to compete in additional individual events, including the 200m individual medley and 400m individual medley. On September 21, Yu added a second gold medal by winning the 200m individual medley in 2:06.10, setting another Asian Games record and an Asian record. Her time was only 0.40 seconds outside Canada’s Summer McIntosh’s world record of 2:05.70. The performances have inevitably turned attention toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, although Yu is still only 13 and has several years of development ahead of her.
For now, however, her Asian Games debut has already established a significant milestone: a teenager who was still 12 when she first made world championship history has now become an Asian Games champion and record-holder.