A 13-YEAR-OLD swimming sensation won gold at the Asian Games.
Chinese rising prodigy Yu Zidi claimed top spot in the 200m butterfly.
Yu Zidi won the 200m butterfly at the Asian Games Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
The 13-year-old broke the Games record and won by three seconds Credit: Alamy
Incredibly, though, she only described her record-breaking performance in the pool as “only so-so”.
Yu touched home in a time of two minutes and 5.08 seconds in Tokyo.
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And that is a new Asian Games record – knocking nearly half a second off the previous best.
The old record was set by Chinese compatriot Zhang Yufei three years ago.
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Brilliant Yu was more than THREE seconds clear of Chang Mohan, who claimed silver.
The teenage talent – who turns 14 in October – was disappointed she did not go even quicker, though.
Yu said: “It was only so-so.
“I hope I can swim even faster.
“I improved my time by 0.9 seconds here.
“I believe I will perform better next time.”
Expectation is already building for the child to make a splash at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics – by which time she will still only be 15.
Yu became the youngest medal winner at a World Championships last year with a bronze in the 4x200m freestyle relay aged just 12.



