Asian Games 2026China's 13-year-old swimmer Yu Zidi created a sensation on the very first day of the 2026 Asian Games. Set to turn 14 next month, the young prodigy not only won the gold medal in the women's 200m butterfly event with a time of 2:05.08 but also set a new Asian Games record.
Zidi shattered the record of 2:05.57—previously held by her compatriot and star swimmer Zhang Yufei by a margin of nearly half a second at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
From Water Park to the Podium
Yu Zidi is considered a major prospect for the 2027 Budapest World Championships and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. She was spotted by a swimming coach while having fun at a water park at the age of six.
Acting on the coach's advice, she took up competitive swimming and later moved to Hengshui to train at the Hebei Taihua Jinye Swimming Club. At the age of 12, she became the youngest medalist in the history of the World Championships after winning a bronze medal as part of China's 4×200m freestyle relay team.
Earlier this year, Zidi defeated American star Regan Smith, clocking a time of 2:05.71. Her campaign at the Asian Games does not end here; she will also compete in the 200m and 400m individual medley events in Tokyo, with her sights set on mounting a strong challenge for the 2027 Budapest World Championships and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Olympic Champion Pan Zhanle Wins Thrilling Gold
In the men's category, Paris Olympics gold medalist and world-record swimmer Pan Zhanle triumphed in a fiercely contested 100m freestyle event. Zhanle secured the gold medal with a time of 47.61 seconds.
He defeated South Korea's Kim Young-beom (47.65 seconds) by a narrow margin of just 0.04 seconds. Meanwhile, South Korea's Hwang Sun-woo won the bronze medal with a time of 47.79 seconds.
