Two golds at 13: Yu Zidi’s rise and Summer McIntosh’s rivalry dominate swimming talk but youngest Asian Games record remains unclear

Yu Zidi (Photo Reuters/AP) At just 13 years old, Yu Zidi is already swimming towards a rivalry that could define the next era of women’s swimming.The Chinese teenager claimed her second gold medal of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Monday, winning the women’s 200m individual medley in 2:06.10 – a time that moved her to within 0.40 seconds of the world record held by Canada’s Olympic champion Summer McIntosh.The result only heightened expectations for a potential Yu-McIntosh showdown. The two could meet as early as the next World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, before attention turns to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where Yu would still be just 15.McIntosh, who has won three individual gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, holds world records in all three events that Yu is targeting: 2:01.65 in the 200m butterfly, 2:05.70 in the 200m individual medley and 4:23.65 in the 400m individual medley.

Yu is closing in on McIntosh’s world record

Yui’s latest gold came less than 24 hours after she won the 200m butterfly in a Games record 2:05.08. He will also compete in the 400m individual medley later this week.Her rapid rise has already brought her to the biggest international stage. At the 2025 World Championships in Singapore, Yu competed at just 12 years old and finished fourth in all three individual events she entered. She also became the youngest World Championship medalist when she won bronze as part of China’s 4x200m freestyle relay team.She added another eye-catching result earlier this year when she beat American Regan Smith in the 200m butterfly at a meet in China. Smith won silver in the event at the Paris Olympics.The McIntosh comparisons are becoming harder to ignore.Hong Kong’s four-time Olympic medalist Siobhan Haughey said the emergence of swimmers like Yu reflected an exciting trend in the sport and pointed to McIntosh’s own rise as a teenager.“When Summer first started, she was also very young and swam fast, so I think that’s kind of the trend today,” Haughey said.

Asia’s youngest gold medalist? Entries have no response

Yu’s achievements naturally raised another question: is she the youngest athlete ever to win a gold medal at the Asian Games?There is no definitive answer yet.Asian Games officials said records dating back to the first edition in New Delhi in 1951 are incomplete, making it impossible to determine whether Yu is the youngest gold medalist in continental Games history.She is not even the youngest competitor in Aichi-Nagoya. The honor is believed to belong to 11-year-old Japanese esports competitor Yuki Kurihara.So while Yu is making history in the pool, the wider age record remains outstanding.

China’s swimming machine continues to produce stars

Yu’s emergence also underscores China’s extraordinary depth in Asian swimming.China won a record 28 swimming gold medals at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, finishing well ahead of South Korea’s six and Japan’s five.China’s dominance continued in Aichi-Nagoya, with the country winning five of seven swimming golds on Monday after six of seven on Sunday.But Yu’s story is bigger than the Chinese medal.At an age when most swimmers are still developing towards senior international competition, she is already challenging the fastest in the world and being discussed in the same breath as McIntosh.For now, McIntosh remains on the trail in front. But with Yu only 13, the gap is already closing – and the swimming world may be watching the start of a rivalry that could stretch all the way to Los Angeles.