Yu Zidi, 13, storms to second Asian Games gold with medley record
China's Yu Zidi won gold in the women's 200m individual medley at the Asian Games in Tokyo on Monday 21 September. She is 13 years old. It was her second gold in two days.
Yu touched in 2 minutes 06.10 seconds, a new Asian Games record BBC Sport. The individual medley tests all four strokes in one race, butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle in that order. Her time left her four-tenths of a second behind the world record.
She won by distance. Yu Yuting of China took silver, 1.89 seconds behind. Mio Narita of Japan was third RFI. In swimming terms, that is clear water. A fingertip is 0.01 seconds. Almost two seconds is dominance.
The medley gold followed her first major title on Sunday's opening day. Yu won the women's 200m butterfly in 2:05.08, also an Asian Games record The Athletic. That swim took almost half a second off the previous Games record, which had been held by a compatriot. Back-to-back wins. Back-to-back records.
Yu arrived in Tokyo with a reputation already. Last year, aged 12, she took bronze with China's women's 4x200m freestyle relay team. That made her the youngest swimmer to win a medal at the World Championships. After her butterfly win on Sunday, she said she could go even faster.
What makes this stand out is the range. Butterfly and medley ask different questions. The 200m butterfly demands rhythm and nerve through the second 100 metres, when arms tire and technique slips. The 200m medley rewards the all-rounder, with no weak stroke and clean turns between them. To win both at 13, with records, is rare.
A junior record is a promise, not a career. Yu will need years of steady progress to turn these swims into senior world titles. For now, the numbers speak plainly. Two races. Two golds. Two Games records.
