By Daniel Takata on SwimSwam
Yu Zidi made headlines at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships, where, at just 12 years old, she finished 4th in the women’s 200 butterfly, 200 IM and 400 IM — and became the youngest swimmer in the history of the competition to win a medal, with a bronze in the 4×200 freestyle relay.
Now, at the Chinese National Games, having turned 13 in October, she continues making waves. With a time of 2:07.41 in the 200 IM, she broke the Asian Record set by Ye Shiwen at the 2012 Olympic Games — a time achieved before Yu was even born. With that mark, she would have earned the silver medal at the 2025 Worlds and currently ranks #2 in the world, behind only world record holder Summer McIntosh.
Given her achievements, she will become the youngest swimmer in the world since 2000 to finish the year ranked among the world’s top 10 – an incredible feat given her age on the last day of 2025 will be just 13 years and 76 days old.
And what’s truly impressive is that she won’t just finish the year “only” among the world’s top 10 fastest. Very likely, she will be #2 in the world in the 200 IM, and she currently ranks 4th in the 400 IM and 7th in the 200 butterfly.
The table below shows the youngest female swimmers to reach world-ranking positions #1 through #20 since 2000, as well as #21–#50 and #51–#100.
Youngest female swimmers to reach world-ranking positions #1 through #100 since 2000
Rank Year Event Swimmer Time Age 1 2010 200 IM Ye Shiwen (CHN) 2:09.37 14 years, 305 days 2 2025 200 IM Yu Zidi (CHN) 2:07.41 13 years, 76 days 3 2019 50 breast Benedetta Pilato (ITA) 29.98 14 years, 347 days 4 2025 400 IM Yu Zidi (CHN) 4:33.76 13 years, 76 days 5 2012 1500 free Becca Mann (USA) 16:11.98 15 years, 35 days 6 2007 400 IM Li Xuanxu (CHN) 4:37.56 13 years, 329 days 7 2025 200 fly Yu Zidi (CHN) 2:06.43 13 years, 76 days 8 2011 100 breast Kanako Watanabe (JPN) 1:07.10 15 years, 46 days 9 2001 50 fly Dana Vollmer (USA) 27.03 14 years, 48 days 10 2020 200 back Wang Jiayin (CHN) 2:09.22 13 years, 363 days 11 2003 400 IM Zhang Tianyi (CHN) 4:44.59 13 years, 251 days 12 2015 400 free Li Bingjie (CHN) 4:06.08 13 years, 303 days 13 2002 400 IM Zhang Tianyi (CHN) 4:45.17 12 years, 251 days 14 2007 200 IM Li Xuanxu (CHN) 2:13.98 13 years, 329 days 15 2018 50 fly Wang Yichun (CHN) 26.03 13 years, 271 days 16 2002 200 fly Zhang Tianyi (CHN) 2:11.24 12 years, 251 days 17 2013 200 breast Runa Imai (JPN) 2:25.13 13 years, 138 days 18 2015 200 free Yanhan Ai (CHN) 1:57.21 13 years, 327 days 19 2012 50 Backstroke Song Yu Tong (CHN) 28.36 13 years, 55 days 20 2008 400 free Li Xuanxu (CHN) 4:07.96 14 years, 330 days 21-50 (37) 2024 400 IM Yu Zidi (CHN) 4:40.87 12 years, 76 days 51-100 (60) 2024 400 Freestyle 4:10.73 12 years, 76 daysThe youngest swimmer to top the world rankings in this period is Ye Shiwen, who led the world at age 14 in the 200 IM in 2010, the year she won the event at the Asian Games.
All swimmers ranked among the youngest to reach positions #1 to #20 are Chinese, with the exception of Japan’s Runa Imai, the youngest swimmer to reach the #17 spot. Another standout who appeared at age 12 is Zhang Tianyi, who finished 2002 ranked 16th in the world in the 200 butterfly. She later competed at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens in the 400 IM, but did not win medals at major international meets.
On the men’s side, Michael Phelps is the youngest swimmer to hold a world #1 ranking since 2000 — in the 200 butterfly in 2001, at 16 years old. That year, he won his first world title and became the youngest man ever to break a world record in a men’s event.
Two other swimmers who stand out are China’s Wu Peng, who appears in several positions and cracked the top 20 at age 14 in 2001, and Hungary’s Daniel Gyurta, who also reached the top 20 at age 14 in 2003. Gyurta goes even further: he is the youngest swimmer since 2000 to finish a season inside the top 100, achieving the feat at age 13 in 2002.
Youngest male swimmers to reach world-ranking positions #1 through #100 since 2000
Rank Year Event Swimmer Time Age 1 2001 200 fly Michael Phelps (USA) 1:54.58 16 years, 184 days 2 2006 400 free Park Tae Hwan(KOR) 3:45.72 17 years, 95 days 3 2006 1500 free Park Tae Hwan (KOR) 14:55.03 17 years, 95 days 4 2002 400 IM Wu Peng (CHN) 4:15.38 15 years, 229 days 5 2023 200 fly Thomas Heilman (USA) 1:53.82 16 years, 327 days 6 2022 800 free Lorenzo Galossi (ITA) 07:43.37 16 years, 220 days 7 2000 200 fly Michael Phelps (USA) 1:56.50 15 years, 184 days 8 2003 200 fly Wu Peng (CHN) 1:56.96 16 years, 229 days 9 2016 50 back Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS) 24.94 16 years, 175 days 10 2010 400 IM Huang Chaosheng (CHN) 4:13.38 16 years, 277 days 11 2025 400 IM Raito Numata (JPN) 4:11.37 17 years, 56 days 12 2005 400 free Park Tae Hwan (KOR) 3:48.71 16 years, 95 days 13 2009 400 IM Huang Chaosheng (CHN) 4:12.53 15 years, 277 days 14 2022 400 free Lorenzo Galossi (ITA) 03:45.93 16 years, 220 days 15 2000 800 free Fran Crippen (USA) 8:02.54 16 years, 258 days 16 2001 1500 free Wu Peng (CHN) 15:18.65 14 years, 229 days 17 2003 200 breast Daniel Gyurta (HUN) 2:13.63 14 years, 241 days 18 2014 100 fly Li Zhuhao (CHN) 51.91 15 years, 356 days 19 2001 200 back Michael Phelps (USA) 2:00.57 16 years, 184 days 20 2008 200 free Danila Izotov (RUS) 1:46.65 17 years, 90 days 21-50 (22) 2001 200 fly Wu Peng (CHN) 1:58.89 14 years, 229 days 51-100 (56) 2002 200 breast Daniel Gyurta (HUN) 2:16.58 13 years, 241 daysRead the full story on SwimSwam: The Youngest Swimmers to Crack the Global Top 100 Since 2000
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