She is only 13 and has smashed an Asian Games record

She is only 13 years old.

But China’s Yu Zidi is already doing things most swimmers spend an entire career chasing.

The Chinese schoolgirl produced a stunning performance at the Asian Games on Sunday, winning gold in the women’s 200m butterfly and breaking the Games record in the process.

Yu touched the wall in 2 minutes 05.08 seconds at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, beating the previous Asian Games record of 2:05.57 set by Chinese Olympic champion Zhang Yufei at Hangzhou 2023.

And she did not just win.

Yu finished more than three seconds ahead of her Chinese teammate Chang Mohan, who took silver in 2:08.44. Japan’s Misa Okuzono claimed bronze.

The remarkable part is that Yu does not even turn 14 until next month.

If her name sounds familiar, there is a good reason.

Yu made swimming history at last year’s World Championships in Singapore when, aged just 12, she became the youngest medallist in World Championships history.

She was part of China’s bronze medal winning 4x200m freestyle relay team after swimming in the heats. She also finished fourth in three individual events, including the 200m butterfly.

And her progress has not slowed down.

Earlier this year, Yu defeated American Olympic champion Regan Smith in the 200m butterfly in China. Now, on her Asian Games debut, she has her first major individual gold medal.

Perhaps the most frightening part for her rivals is that Yu was not completely satisfied.

Speaking after her victory, she described the performance as only "so so" and said she believes she can swim even faster.

And there could be more to come.

The 200m butterfly is only the first of three individual events Yu is scheduled to compete in at these Asian Games.

At 12, she was already a world medallist.

At 13, she is an Asian Games champion and record holder.

And the Los Angeles Olympics are still almost two years away.