By Terin Frodyma on SwimSwam
Two teenage prodigies from China are shedding light on a puzzling age divide in international sports. Seventeen-year-old javelin thrower Yan Ziyi has been barred from the 2025 World Athletics Championships for not yet meeting the minimum age requirements to compete, despite ranking among the best in the world. On the other hand, Yu Zidi, a 12-year-old swimmer who has made worldwide headlines, raced at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.
Yan, who was born in 2008, has already produced throws that compete with current international talent, placing her third on the world list in the women’s javelin. Yan set the U20 world record in the javelin with a throw of 64.28 meters in April of 2024 at the China Athletics GP. Earlier that same year, Yan won the national championship in Tianjin with her throw of 61.31 meters.
But World Athletics rules prevent anyone under the age of 16 from competing at World Championships, but for some disciplines, such as throwing events, the marathon, and race walking, that age minimum is raised to 18.
Some opinions argue that the age requirements are a necessary rule to preserve an athlete’s performance long-term. Others believe that if an athlete demonstrates exceptional talent, such as Yan, they should be granted the chance to compete.
Swimming takes a different approach to championship qualification. Braden Kieth touched on this in an article in August:
Current World Aquatics rules say that athletes must be at least 14 years of age on December 31st of the current year to compete at the World Championships or Olympic Games in swimming. It allows exceptions in cases like Yu, where swimmers have achieved at least the ‘B’ Standard Entry Time in the respective event.
World Aquatics plans to review the age limit rule for future competitions.
She clocked 2:10.63 in the 200 IM and a 2:06.83 in the 200 butterfly at Chinese Nationals, both unprecedented for her age. In Singapore, she advanced to the 200 IM final, missing the podium by just six-hundredths of a second, and contributed to China’s bronze medal in the 4×200 freestyle relay by swimming in prelims.
The contrast between Yan and Yu has fueled debate. In track and field, the line is firmly drawn at 18 for certain events, and 16 for the rest. In swimming, the door is open as long as the time says so.
Both Yan and Yu have shown strong glimpses of future international potential, but their immediate paths vary. Yan will have to bide her time in junior and domestic competitions despite her world-class results, while Yu is already racing—and succeeding—on some of swimming’s grandest platforms.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Too Young to Throw, Young Enough to Swim: The Age Eligibility Paradox
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