A 12-year-old Chinese swimmer has been hailed a “sensation” and is on course for the world championships after clocking the fastest time in history in her event at that age.

Yu Zidi’s blistering 2 minutes 10.63 seconds in the women’s 200m individual medley at China’s national championships was well inside the standard required to qualify for Singapore in July-August.

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China’s swimming association told AFP they will wait until the week-long national competition in Shenzhen finishes on Saturday before finalising their squad for the world championships in Singapore.

Yu’s scintillating swim on Sunday gave her second place behind Paris Olympian Yu Yiting in Shenzhen.

The global governing body, World Aquatics, tweeted: “12-year-old sensation alert!”

Had the schoolgirl competed at last year’s Paris Olympics, her time would have been good enough to reach the semi-finals.

Yu, who turns 13 in October, trains in the northern province of Hebei and has been earmarked as a “new star” by Chinese state media after first making national headlines last year.

“In 2024 I participated in some competitions, achieved some results, and many swimming fans recognised me,” she told Chinese media earlier this year.

“After experiencing major competitions, I understood even better the importance of doing well in every training session to achieve good results and have a strong heart.”

She added: “The most difficult time is probably when you are closest to your goal. You must keep going.”