At the Shenzhen Universiade Center on Monday, the swimming program at the 15th National Games finished with an unexpectedly youthful surge.
Among seasoned stars and established champions, it was 13-year-old Yu Zidi from Hebei who stole the spotlight, leaving the pool with three gold medals, one silver and one bronze. Her performances signaled not only the arrival of a prodigy, but perhaps the beginning of a new era in Chinese swimming.
Yu's most dazzling moment came in the women's 200m individual medley, where she stopped the clock at 2:07.41 and broke an Asian record that had stood for 13 years. She went on to add a silver medal in the women's 200m butterfly, beating Olympic champion Zhang Yufei.
The breakout did not come out of nowhere. Earlier this summer, at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Yu — then only 12 — had already shown that she belonged to the world stage.
She finished fourth in the women's 200m butterfly and both the 200m and 400m individual medley finals. Though she repeatedly brushed against the podium without quite making the step onto it, her performances were enough to establish her as one of the most promising young talents anywhere in the sport.
From that debut to her stunning results at the National Games, Yu now fully embodies the title of Chinese swimming's "future star".
After her record-breaking 200m individual medley on Nov 11, Yu was still trying to process what she had done.
"I'm very happy, very excited," she said. "Before the race, I felt that refreshing my personal best would be enough. I didn't expect to swim this fast."
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The time was three seconds faster than her result at the world championships and broke the Asian and national record of 2:07.57 set by Ye Shiwen at the London Olympics in 2012 — before Yu was even born.
"I didn't see my time clearly," she admitted. "Suddenly I heard that the Asian record had been broken, and I was wondering who broke it. I didn't expect it to be me!" Yu called the moment "unbelievable", adding: "I had only one feeling — I wanted to cry!"
Her surprises did not end there. In the 200m butterfly, she surged ahead of Zhang Yufei, one of China's most accomplished swimmers. Before the race, Zhang had gently patted Yu on the shoulder.
Zhang later explained that she wanted Yu's path to be smooth, but also hoped she would encounter moments that would help her grow. A completely smooth journey, Zhang said, is not always ideal for an athlete — but she also didn't want Yu to lose confidence because of any setbacks.
Yu continued her momentum by helping the Hebei team win gold in the women's 4X200m freestyle relay. Her split time of 1:57.98 was the fastest she had ever swum.
Looking back on her overall performance at the National Games, she gave herself a score of 90. "I'm generally satisfied," she said. "I did my best in the races, but there are still areas I can improve, especially my breaststroke technique. I will keep working hard and try to do even better next time."
After the swimming program ended, Ye approached her with a smile. "When I broke the world record in the 400m individual medley, I was also wondering who it was that had broken it," Ye told her. "Your feeling today was just like mine."
Ye said she was sincerely happy to see her own record fall.
"Records are meant to be broken," she said. "Congratulations to Yu for beginning her own era. I'm very happy to see such a strong new generation in Chinese swimming, and I look forward to seeing her continue to perform miracles for China on the international stage."
Yu's journey in the water began with something much simpler than medals or records — a summer filled with play. When she was six, her father used to take her to a water park, where she discovered an instinctive joy in the water.
While other children hesitated or clung to floats, Yu seemed to merge with the element, floating effortlessly and paddling forward with a natural rhythm. Her instinctive "water sense" caught the eye of Li Chao, a coach with the Baoding swimming team, who happened to see her at the pool.
"She wasn't the kind of child who was especially outgoing," Li recalled. "But once she got into the water, she was completely different.
"Her kicking was great — she just whooshed forward. She wasn't scared to jump in, and even when the water covered her head, she wasn't afraid."
With her father's agreement, Yu began formal training.
Her rise was swift and steady: she joined the provincial training team at age nine and began competing at the national level at 10.
She garnered wider attention during the National Swimming Championships in May, where she won the 400m individual medley and the 200m butterfly.
She achieved the A standard in all three of her events, qualifying for the world championships and quickly attracted global attention.
At the Singapore worlds, the youngest athlete in the entire competition became one of its most talked-about. Yu reached the finals in all three of her individual events and finished fourth in each.
She also swam in the preliminaries of the women's 4X200m freestyle relay, helping China win a bronze medal — making her the youngest medalist in the history of the world championships.
She has been training with the national team since the start of the year alongside Li Bingjie, another swimmer from Baoding, who also rose to fame as a teenager.
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Li Bingjie has become something of a big sister, sharing her experience generously and helping Yu navigate the pressures of international competition.
Yu once wrote in her journal: "I hope that when I grow up, I can be like Li Bingjie — become a world and Olympic champion and know what that feeling is like. It's very tiring, but as long as I can swim, I will definitely work hard and bring glory to my country."
Following her mentors and predecessors, Yu is moving steadily toward her dream of competing at the Los Angeles Olympics.
From a child joyfully splashing around in a summer water park to a teenager breaking continental records and leaving seasoned champions in her wake, she is already carving out a lane through the choppy waters of competitive swimming.
