Yu Zidi: Too Much Too Young?

Enormous Talent: Swimming Faces a Dilemma Over 12-Year-Old Chinese Schoolgirl

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Swimming is a sport well used to talented teenagers, but Yu Zidi's participation aged 12 at the world championships has sparked debate about how young is too young.

The prodigious Chinese schoolgirl is not just making up the numbers at the event in Singapore this week.

Yu qualified for Monday's final of the 200m individual medley and came fourth, missing out on a remarkable medal by just 0.06sec in what is not considered her strongest event.

The race was won by Canada's Summer McIntosh – she competed at the Tokyo Olympics as a 14-year-old and last summer in Paris won three golds at age 17.

Yu was at it again on Wednesday in Singapore, racing alongside comparative veteran McIntosh to reach the finals of the 200m butterfly.

Yu, who turns 13 in October, will also race in the 400m medley later this week.

The Chinese prodigy, who discovered swimming aged six as a way to cool off in China's roasting summers, has drawn historical comparisons to Inge Sorensen.

At 12, the Dane was the youngest-ever winner of an Olympic swimming medal after her bronze at the Berlin Games of 1936.