China's bronze medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay at the World Championships in Singapore, and the fact that 12-year-old Yu Zidi was part of this achievement, prompted the International Swimming Federation (World Aquatics) to change the age restrictions for participation in prestigious tournaments.
Idman.biz reports that ESPN reported this.
Yu Zidi participated in the semi-final race, and Lia Yaksin replaced him in the final. However, this did not prevent the young athlete from winning a medal.
Thus, Yu Zidi became the youngest medalist in the history of world swimming championships. With this indicator, he broke the 39-year-old record, surpassing Canadian Allison Nidson. Nidson won a bronze medal in the 200m backstroke in 1986 at the age of 13 years and 158 days.
Currently, the minimum age limit for swimmers to participate in world championships is 14. Yu Zidi participated as an exception to this rule, because his best result met the A standard.
Idman.biz