Thirteen-year-old Yu Zidi sweeps three Asian Games golds with 400m medley win

Triple gold sweep in Nagoya

Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi secured her third individual gold medal at the Asian Games in Nagoya on Wednesday, winning the women's 400-metre individual medley in 4 minutes and 28.56 seconds. Her wire-to-wire performance set a new Games record and placed her 3.95 seconds ahead of silver medallist Ke Wenxi. The victory followed her earlier wins in the 200-metre butterfly and the 200-metre individual medley, both of which also established new Games records. The 13-year-old swimmer evaluated her performance with a measured perspective following the race.

“I am very happy. I have gained a lot from these Asian Games, but there are also some regrets. I will go back and review what I did not do well. Hopefully, I can do better next time.”

Path from Baoding to international competition

Born on 16 October 2012 in Baoding, located southwest of Beijing, Yu began swimming at age 6 after being identified by a coach at a water park. Her training routine led her to give up piano and dance lessons, while her parents Liu Hui and Yu Tao traveled to Japan to watch her compete. World Aquatics rules generally set a minimum age of 14 for senior championships, but allow younger athletes who attain qualifying time standards to enter. At the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Yu finished fourth in three individual finals at age 12 and earned a bronze medal by swimming in the preliminary heats of the 4x200-metre freestyle relay. Teammate Zhang Yufei pointed to Yu's steady technical progression across national and international competitions.

“I've only seen her at the National Games so far but seeing her results get better and better it makes me really happy.”

Comparisons with Summer McIntosh

Yu's times in Nagoya have brought comparisons with Canada's Summer McIntosh, who won three gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics and holds world records in all three of Yu's primary disciplines. Yu completed the 200-metre individual medley on Monday in 2 minutes and 6.10 seconds, finishing 0.40 seconds off McIntosh's world record of 2:05.70. Her 400-metre individual medley time finished 4.91 seconds behind McIntosh's world mark of 4:23.65. At age 12, Yu recorded times roughly 15 seconds faster in the 400-metre individual medley and 12 seconds faster in the 200-metre individual medley than McIntosh swam at that age. The two are projected to meet at the 2027 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Retired German open water world champion Leonie Beck noted the challenges of managing early expectations.

“Just because you're really good and fast at this age, doesn't mean that your whole career will continue like this.”

China expands medal count in the pool

China won six of seven swimming finals on Wednesday, increasing its swimming haul to 21 gold medals in 27 events with two days of competition remaining. Additional Chinese gold medalists on Wednesday included Yu Yiting in the women's 100-metre butterfly in 56.41 seconds, Peng Xuwei in the women's 100-metre backstroke in 59.30 seconds, and Tang Qianting in the women's 100-metre breaststroke in 1:04.98. Zhang Zhanshuo won the men's 200-metre freestyle in 1:43.49 to claim his fourth gold medal of the Games, and China took the mixed medley relay title. Shoon Mitsunaga of Japan won the men's 100-metre butterfly in 50.56 seconds as the only non-Chinese swimming victor of the session. Outside the pool, Zhang Boheng led China to the men's team gymnastics title over Japan.

2023 Hangzhou (Final)28

2026 Nagoya (Day 4)21

2023 Hangzhou (Final)

28

2026 Nagoya (Day 4)

21

Data from the article text