13-Year-Old Yu Zidi Wins Asian Games Gold and Sets New 200m Butterfly Record

VoS NEWS DESK | SPORTS | 21 September 2026

Yu Zidi led from the early stages of the final and finished comfortably ahead of compatriot Chang Mohan, who took silver in 2:08.44. Japan's Misa Okuzono claimed bronze with a time of 2:09.97.

Yu's winning time of 2:05.08 established a new Asian Games record in the event. Reuters reported that the teenager led the race from start to finish, while the Associated Press described her performance as part of China's strong opening day in the swimming competition.

The result also marked Yu's first Asian Games gold medal. She entered the competition as one of the youngest athletes in the swimming programme and attracted considerable attention because she is still only 13 years old.

Yu's performance came on the opening day of swimming at the Asian Games. China's swimmers also produced a strong start elsewhere in the programme, with Olympic champion Pan Zhanle winning the men's 100m freestyle. His winning time was 47.61 seconds.

Pan holds the men's 100m freestyle world record of 46.40 seconds, set at the Paris Olympics. At the Asian Games, however, his 47.61 was enough to retain the title he won at the previous Games in Hangzhou.

Yu's 200m butterfly victory was particularly significant because of the improvement in her personal performance. The 2:05.08 mark was reported as a personal best as well as a new Asian Games record.

The previous Asian Games record in the women's 200m butterfly was 2:05.57, set by China's Zhang Yufei in 2023. Yu's new mark therefore lowered the Games record by almost half a second.

The young swimmer has already competed successfully at senior international level. In 2025, she became the youngest medalist in World Aquatics Championships history when she helped China win bronze in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay in Singapore, according to reports about her career.

Yu also holds a national-level achievement in the individual medley. At China's National Games in 2025, she recorded 2:07.41 in the 200m individual medley, breaking the Asian record at the time, according to reporting on her career.

Her programme at the 2026 Asian Games includes the 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley and 400m individual medley. The events give her the opportunity to compete across several swimming disciplines during the Games.

After winning the 200m butterfly, Yu said she believed there were still aspects of her technique that could be improved. She specifically referred to her head position and leg movements, indicating that she viewed the performance as part of her continuing development as a swimmer.

The Asian Games victory adds another major achievement to Yu's rapidly developing international career. At 13, she is competing against established senior swimmers while continuing her education alongside her training programme.

China's strong opening day in the pool contributed to its early position at the top of the Asian Games medal table. The country collected multiple gold medals across the first day of competition, with swimming providing several of those victories.

The Games are being held across Aichi and Nagoya in Japan, with swimming taking place at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. The competition brings together athletes from across Asia in a wide range of sporting disciplines.

For Yu, the 200m butterfly final has established a new Asian Games benchmark while giving her an individual continental title at an unusually young age.

Her performance will now be followed during the remainder of the Games as she competes in her other scheduled events, including the individual medleys.

VoS STRATEGIC INSIGHT

Yu Zidi's Asian Games debut has produced a gold medal and a new Games record of 2:05.08 in the women's 200m butterfly.

The result adds to the 13-year-old's previous international achievements, including a World Aquatics Championships relay medal and an Asian record in the 200m individual medley.

Her remaining Asian Games events will provide further opportunities to assess her performances across different swimming disciplines as the competition continues.

Source: Reuters; Associated Press; official Asian Games reporting.