SHENZHEN, China — Chinese swimming sensation Yu Zidi added to her fast-growing reputation as the 13-year-old phenomenon beat multiple Olympic medallist Regan Smith in the women’s 200m butterfly in a personal-best time in Shenzhen.
School girl Yu made global headlines last summer when at age 12 she became the youngest medallist in swimming world championships history, AFP reported.
At the China Open, she powered to victory in the 200m fly in 2min 05.71sec, beating the American Smith into second in another statement performance.
Her time would have put Yu on the podium at the world championships.
Smith won silver in the event behind Canada’s Summer McIntosh at the Paris 2024 Olympics in a time of 2:03.84.
The 24-year-old Smith has won a total of eight Olympic medals, two of them gold.
The China Open in the southern city of Shenzhen has attracted a strong field of Chinese and international stars. Yu is entered to compete in five events, Chinese state media said.
The home team, including Yu, are gearing up for the Asian Games in September-October in Japan.
At last year’s world championships in Singapore Yu took bronze as part of China’s 4x200m freestyle relay team, making history in the process. She also finished fourth in each of her three individual events.
In November Yu sent shock waves through the swimming world again with a blistering Asian record at China’s National Games.
Yu, who turned 13 in October, swam 2:07.41 to claim gold in the 200m medley.
