Young swimmers like China’s Yu Zidi good for the sport, says Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey

TOKYO – The rise of China’s teenage sensation Yu Zidi is emblematic of an exciting trend where younger swimmers are breaking through at the highest level, four-time Olympic medallist Siobhan Haughey said on Sept 21.

After narrowly missing out on qualifying for the 2024 Paris Games at the age of 11, Yu claimed national titles in the 400m individual medley and 200 butterfly in 2025.

She also qualified for the 2025 World Championships in Singapore, where she became the youngest-ever medallist with a bronze in China’s 4x200 freestyle relay team.

On Sept 20, Yu won gold in the women’s 200 butterfly at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in a Games record time of 2min 5.08sec.

Asked about the 13-year-old, Hong Kong’s Haughey drew comparisons with Canadian Summer McIntosh, who competed at the Tokyo Olympics aged 14 before going on to win three gold medals in Paris.

“I think the general consensus is we have more and more great young swimmers swimming well,” said Haughey, who won silver in the 100 and 200 freestyle in Tokyo and took bronze in both events in Paris.

“When Summer first started she was also very young and swimming fast, so I think that’s kind of the trend these days.

“Hopefully, swimming well that young, you can also translate to as you get older and well into your 20s and beyond, so it’s exciting for the swimming world.”

The 28-year-old, part of the Hong Kong team which took silver in the women’s 4x100 freestyle on Sept 20, said she felt like a veteran when competing against young swimmers like Yu.

“On one hand it makes me feel I’m twice their age, but I’m still here, so that says something,” she added.

“I think being an older swimmer means I have a lot more experience, and I try to use that experience to my advantage, for instance like how to handle pressure or what to expect at a big meet.

“It’s so great that there are a lot of younger swimmers because you want the sport to keep moving forward and to keep evolving.” REUTERS