12-Year-Old Yu Zidi Blasts Incredible 4:35.53 in 400 IM at Chinese Nationals; Wang Shun Sets Championship Record
Yu Zidi, the 12-year-old phenom who has attracted the attention of the swimming world for her precocious talent, capped the Chinese National Championships in impressive fashion on Saturday night. Recording a career-best time of 4:35.53, Yu secured victory in the 400-meter individual medley and qualified for this summer’s World Championships in a third event.
Already the champion of the 200 butterfly and the runnerup in the 200 IM, Yu was equally sensational in the 400 medley, an event in which she clocked 4:40 last year as an 11-year-old. The pre-teen won the Chinese crown on the last day of the meet by nearly two seconds, as she was followed in second place by Chang Mohan (4:37.33) and in third place by Li Bingjie (4:38.66).
Yu split 1:01.29 for the opening butterfly leg and came through the midway point of the race in 2:11.13. She was timed at 3:31.67 while making the turn from breaststroke to freestyle and she closed out the race with a freestyle split of 1:03.88. The outing took five seconds off her prior personal best and, given her age and significant improvement arc, Yu can be expected to contend for the podium at the World Champs in Singapore.
To place perspective on Yu’s talent and accomplishments, the 11-12 National Age Group girls’ record for the 400 IM in the United States belongs to Kayla Han at 4:50.70. Meanwhile, the male record for the age group is 4:42.54, seven seconds adrift of what Yu recorded.
Wu Qingfeng put the finishing touches on a superb week by claiming victory in the 50 freestyle, behind a mark of 24.18. That time handed Wu her third gold medal of Nationals, backing up previous wins in the 50 butterfly and 100 freestyle. In the 50 free, Wu was followed by Cheng Yujie, who was timed in 24.33.
Third place in the 50 freestyle went to Zhang Yufei, the reigning Olympic bronze medalist in the event. Zhang took an extended break from training following the Olympic Games in Paris and continues to work her way back to optimal shape. Earlier in the week, she was second in the 100 butterfly and third in the 50 fly.
Wang Shun and Zhang Zhanshuo put up a pair of quality times en route to a 1-2 finish in the men’s 400 individual medley. The 2020 Olympic champion in the 200 IM, Wang completed his weekly sweep of the medley events by touching the wall in a championship record of 4:10.64. That effort was a little more than a second faster than the 4:11.86 of Zhang, who actually posted that time in the 400 IM after winning the 1500 freestyle in 15:02.62, marking an incredibly difficult double.
One day after equaling his Chinese record in the 50 backstroke in 24.38, Xu Jiayu was slightly off that performance. Nonetheless, Xu’s effort of 24.46 was good for a decisive triumph and wrapped up his sweep of the backstroke events. Meanwhile, Tang Qianting was also victorious in a sprint event, as she complemented her earlier win in the 100 breaststroke by placing first in the 50 breast (30.23).
Thanks to the X account, Chinese Swimming News and Results (@CHNswim_fan), for its coverage of the competition.