12-year-old Chinese Swimming Sensation Draws Global Praise And A Note Of Caution

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HONG KONG — A 12-year-old Chinese swimmer has go a world sensation pinch her history-making times, moreover arsenic observers and fans backmost location caution against overhyping nan young athlete.

On Thursday, Yu Zidi became nan youngest-ever medalist at nan World Aquatics Championships, which are being held successful Singapore this year.

Yu was portion of nan Chinese squad that took bronze successful nan women’s 4x200-meter freestyle relay, pinch the United States winning metallic and Australia winning gold. Though she did not compete successful nan final, she received a badge because she swam successful nan qualifying race.

“I was really excited to subordinate nan relay. It felt great,” Yu told reporters Thursday. “The World Championships are fun, and I dream to aquatics faster.”

The Chinese prodigy began swimming astir property 6 conscionable to hit nan power successful her location state of Hebei. She said she ne'er thought astir becoming a master jock until a coach approached her astatine a swimming excavation 1 day.

“At nan time, I thought: why not springiness training a try?” Yu told Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency, successful May.

Yu, who is besides nan youngest personification to badge astatine a awesome world title since 1936, could gain an individual badge connected Sunday successful nan women’s 400-meter medley. Her times are truthful accelerated that they allowed her to compete astatine nan World Aquatics Championships moreover though nan minimum property request is usually 14.

She has already travel adjacent to medaling successful 2 different events successful Singapore, missing nan podium by 0.06 seconds successful nan women’s 200-meter medley connected Monday and 0.31 seconds successful nan women’s 200-meter butterfly connected Thursday.

At nan Chinese nationalist championships successful May, Yu vanished nan 200-meter individual medley pinch a clip of 2:10.63, winning a metallic badge and mounting a world grounds successful nan arena for immoderate 12-year-old, antheral aliases female.

Hailed arsenic nan world’s top swimmer her age, Yu has been compared to phenoms specified arsenic Katie Ledecky of nan United States and Summer McIntosh of Canada, pinch times that would person put her connected nan verge of medaling at nan 2024 Paris Olympics. Already, Yu is swimming nan 400-meter individual medley astir 15 seconds faster than McIntosh was astatine nan aforesaid age.

SINGAPORE-WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS-SWIMMING-WOMEN 200M BUTTERFLY

Her stunning capacity earlier she’s moreover a teen has galore wondering really she mightiness style competitory swimming successful nan years to come.

But immoderate Chinese sports fans and commentators person urged nan nationalist not to overhype nan preteen rising star.

Yu’s abrupt fame whitethorn expose her to “disproportionate” unit that could support her from achieving her afloat potential, nan state-backed integer news outlet Shanghai Observer said successful an editorial Thursday.

“We must fto this 12-year-old turn her scatter slow into a wave,” it said, adding that location is “no request to unreserved into leader worship.”

The informing hinted astatine a displacement successful really China promotes its elite athletes successful nan aftermath of persistent doping allegations and what has been criticized arsenic a “toxic” instrumentality culture.

Success astatine nan highest levels of athletics has been cardinal to China’s building of nationalist identity, pinch nan authorities focused connected dominating badge tables astatine nan Olympics and different events.

But nan push for golden medals besides puts a batch of accent connected nan countries’ prima athletes, arsenic does nan strength of nationalist scrutiny.

Organized sports fandom first emerged astir 2016 erstwhile Chinese societal media users, jaded by activity scandals that had tarnished nan wholesome image of popular stars they antecedently adored, began pursuing Olympic athletes instead, said Zhang Bin, a seasoned sports commentator successful China.

The caller fans brought “sophisticated strategies” from nan intermezo industry, mounting disconnected “fandom wars” among different groups that tried to outdo each different successful supporting their athletes, Zhang said.

China’s utmost sports instrumentality culture, which tin see instrumentality mobs, cyberbullying of athletes and heckling behaviour astatine sports events, was particularly visible astir nan Paris Olympics past year.

When gold-medal-winning diver Quan Hongchan returned to her hometown, visitors flocked to her location for days. Some livestreamed pinch their phones while others flew drones, and recreation agencies moreover started offering tours of her village.

Pan Zhanle, an Olympic champion swimmer, was praised for disbanding his charismatic instrumentality group aft his occurrence astatine nan Paris Games overwhelmed him pinch a surge of caller followers.

The Chinese authorities has been cracking down, pinch its cyberspace watchdog saying successful April that it had unopen down complete 3,700 societal media accounts pinch forbidden aliases noncompliant contented aimed astatine Chinese athletes.

But sometimes nan frenzy goes beyond nan internet. Chinese array tennis subordinate Fan Zhendong, an Olympic golden medalist, said he was traumatized erstwhile a alien sneaked into his edifice room successful 2023.

“I ne'er thought, arsenic an athlete, I would person to spell done thing for illustration this,” he told Phoenix TV past week, adding that organized online maltreatment had caused him “severe” intelligence accent that contributed to respective unexpected losses.

Since sports prodigies people pull followers, instrumentality groups could besides beryllium a interest for Yu successful nan future, said Zhang, who was astatine nan World Aquatics Championships successful Singapore.

China is often overprotective of its athletes, but it “may not beryllium a bully point if Yu is surviving successful isolation for illustration protected elephantine pandas,” he said.

“For athletes, learning to interact pinch nan media is simply a basal portion of their development,” Zhang added.

Jessie Zhou, 23, a postgraduate student successful Hong Kong who intimately follows array tennis prima Fan, said it was a “good call” for Chinese media to screen Yu successful a “restrained tone” while utmost sports fandom remains unresolved.

“Just fto nan kid enactment focused connected training,” Zhou said.