13-Year-Old Yu Zidi Wins Asian Games Gold, Sets Record

China's 13-year-old swimmer Yu Zidi won gold in the women's 200m butterfly at the 2026 Asian Games in Tokyo on Sunday, setting a new record for the competition. Yu finished with a time of 2 minutes 05.08 seconds, breaking the previous Asian Games record of 2:05.57 set by her compatriot Zhang Zufei in 2023. The victory marked Yu's first major individual gold medal. Yu, who will turn 14 next month, finished 3.36 seconds ahead of silver medalist Chang Mohan, also of China. The win is the first of three individual events Yu is scheduled to compete in at the Games, which are being held in Tokyo. The performance comes two years before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where Yu is expected to be a serious contender. The teenager has built a rapidly growing reputation in international swimming. Last year, at age 12, she became the youngest swimming world championships medalist in history, winning bronze as part of China's 4x200m freestyle relay team. She also placed fourth in three individual world championship events. Earlier this year, she secured a notable victory over multiple American Olympic champion Regan Smith.