Yu, 12, becomes youngest medallist in Worlds history

Yu Zidi, a student from China, won the medal at the World Aquatics Championships, becoming the youngest swimmer ever to do so.

The 12-year-old, who was unable to compete in the final on Thursday, swam earlier this week in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay heats, earning a medal.

China came in third place in the Singaporean final, trailing only Australia and the United States.

Less than a month after her 12th birthday, Inge Sorensen of Denmark won a bronze medal in the 200-meter breaststroke at the 1936 Olympics. She is the youngest medalist at a major international competition.

It’s a nice feeling, Yu said, “but it’s quite emotional.”

The 13-year-old girl narrowly missed out on a medal in fourth place in the women’s 200-meter butterfly final on Thursday, even though she came close to achieving individual glory.

Yu finished fourth in the individual medley final on Monday, falling behind by 0.06 seconds.

Regards were divided over Yu’s participation in the World Championships.

Yu was allowed entry because her times met the “A” standard, but competitors in the championships must be at least 14 years old.

However, not everyone is convinced Yu should be allowed to compete on a global scale as of yet, despite the fact that her ability is unquestionable.

Four-time world champion swimmer Karen Pickering and Olympic bronze medalist Steve Parry, both of whom had opposing viewpoints, spoke on BBC Radio 5 Live about the subject.

“To see a youngster enter the events she is participating in is on the one hand astonishing, but it does raise the question of how long she has been training hard”? Pickering remarked.

What kind of instruction is she receiving? What physically harm does that cause to her?

I’m concerned about how physically a child who is receiving that much training at that age will feel. We’ve seen it with gymnasts who are pushed too early and how their bodies long-term are affected.

Parry, however, praised Yu’s efforts, saying they were “positive” and had echoes of Sharron Davies, who, aged 13, represented Great Britain at the 1976 Olympics.

I was spanked by a 15-year-old Michael Phelps in Sydney, who later became the greatest swimmer we’ve ever seen, said Parry, and she is a 12-year-old girl who is appropriate for our questioning.

We must take good care of their mental health and make sure they aren’t being pushed too much, Sharron Davies, Yu, or Katie Ledecky, but we can’t have them.