The world of swimming is shocked by 12-year-old Zidi Yu

Zidi Yu caused a stir at the world swimming championship taking place in Singapore.

Just 0.06 seconds short of the bronze medal in the 200m medley, Yu still silenced the crowd with a time of 2 minutes 09 seconds 21 - an achievement that even many adult athletes dream of. World Aquatics confirmed that no one at this age has ever achieved a similar result.

Early talent - blessing or pressure?

“It’s unbelievable,” said Pepin Rivera, who led Spain’s junior team to 14 medals at the European Championships. He compared Yu to world-class athletes, not just because of her speed, but because of the way she perfected her technique with each stroke.

“We could see Yu in the 400m medley final – a rare feat at the age of 12,” said Rivera.

But in sports, “early-maturing talent” is always a double-edged sword. History has recorded Ye Shiwen - a Chinese girl who shocked the 2012 London Olympics with her “manly” sprint, but then her career stalled. On the contrary, Canada’s Summer McIntosh, with a foundation of modern training science , has maintained her form and is now leading the world. Which direction will Yu go?

What makes it even more surprising is that Yu trains 10 times a week – a number that far exceeds the average of 6-7 sessions that young European talents usually do. “Even many 18-year-old athletes don’t train that much,” Rivera said.

Swimming is a sport that requires patience and hard work, but this high level of intensity carries both the risk of injury and mental pressure, especially for a girl who has not yet reached her teenage years.

Zidi Yu is attracting the attention of the world swimming village.

Yu was born in 2012 in Baoding, Hebei Province. Her story of how she got into swimming is also remarkable: when she was 6 or 7 years old, she was discovered at a water park after impressing a coach. At the age of 9, Yu left her family and moved to Hebei Taihua Jinye Club - a training center that has produced Olympic champions.

Just a year later, she was competing in the national championships. World Aquatics even had to break rules to let Yu participate in the top tournament, despite the rule prohibiting athletes under 14.

The long road to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics

“She has a very promising future,” said runner-up Alex Walsh after the 200m medley. Harvey, who finished third, warned: “The pressure is much greater now because the whole world knows her.”

Statistics from The Talent Lab show that only 6.9% of young world medalists make it to the Olympic podium. It is a bumpy and challenging road, where not only talent, but also perseverance and the right support can help a young phenomenon break through to become a legend.

Zidi Yu is at the crossroads of glory and pressure. Her 2:09.21 at the age of 12 is an affirmation that the swimming world has a new gem.

But from here, the big question arises: can she maintain this miraculous speed of progress to become China's hope at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, or will she soon stagnate like many other "child prodigies"?

The answer is still ahead, but right now, Zidi Yu has written a story that makes the entire swimming world take their hats off.

Source: https://znews.vn/lang-boi-the-gioi-rung-dong-vi-zidi-yu-tuoi-12-post1572070.html