You are working on Staging1

15-Yr-Old Yu Yiting Takes Down Vazquez’s 400 IM World Junior Record

CHINESE LONG COURSE INVITATIONAL

The first of two newly-introduced high-level Chinese domestic swimming competitions wrapped up this morning in Shijiazhuang City. Swimmers to the tune of Xu Jiayu, Zhang Yufei and Wang Shun have been putting up some impressive swims, with the majority also then headed to the second meet slated for Guangzhou from March 4th to March 7th.

However, on the final day of the competition, it was teenager Yu Yiting who turned heads while competing in the women 400m IM event, hitting a new World Junior Record on her eventual path to gold.

The World Junior Record was actually thrown down last night in the prelims of the 400m IM, with the 15-year-old producing a monster mark of 4:35.94. That outing checked in as by far the fastest of her career, overtaking the 4:40.48 she logged at the National Championships last September.

As such, the young star’s 4:35.94 outing represented her first time under the 4:40 barrier and she accomplished it with an over-4 second clearance. In doing so, her time also overtook the reigning World Junior Record of 4:38.53 Spain’s Alba Vazquez Ruiz threw down en route to taking the World Junior title last year in Budapest.

For her part, Yu raced at the senior World Championships in Gwangju last year at just 14 years of age at the time (birth date September 5, 2005). She ultimately placed 11th in the 200m IM (2:11.60) and 14th in the 400m IM (4:42.52).

Although splits are not available at the time of publishing, Yu’s time here in Shijiazhuang now renders the young athlete not only as the newly-minted World Junior Record holder but also as China’s 5th fastest performer to date.

China’s All-Time Women’s 400m IM Performers

  1. Ye Shiwen – 4:28.43 WR, 2012
  2. Zheng Rongrong – 4:32.20, 2012
  3. Li Xuanxu – 4:32.91, 2012
  4. Zhou Min – 4:33.50, 2013
  5. Yu Yiting – 4:35.94, 2020
  6. Chen Yan – 4:36.66, 1998
  7. Li Lin – 4:36.73, 1992

With the finals at this meet taking place in the morning to mimic the timing as this summer’s Olympic Games, Yu was off her eye-popping performance from last night’s prelims, but still under the 4:40 threshold once again to grab gold. She nabbed the top prize in 4:37.62 to reap the 2nd fastest time of her young career.

This 15-year-old phenom is also the world’s 2nd fastest performer of the season.

2020-2021 LCM Women 400 IM

YuiJPN
Ohashi
07/24
4:32.08
2Kaylee
McKeown
AUS4:32.7312/13
3Emma
Weyant
USA4:32.7607/24
4Hali
Flickinger
USA4:33.9606/13
5Melanie
Margalis
USA4:34.0806/13
View Top 26»

Just for additional perspective, Yu’s 4:35.94 outing would rank her as the #2 female 15-16-year-old swimmer all-time in the United States. Elizabeth Beisel owns the National Age Record in 4:32.87 from her 2008 Olympic Trials debut, but Yu would rank ahead of Janet Evans, Ella Eastin, Becca Mann, and Dagny Knutson with what she achieved at this domestic meet.

10
Leave a Reply

Subscribe
Notify of

10 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Joe
3 years ago

Ye’s swim was at the freaking Olympic Games. I don’t know what bending over backwards FINA are doing to think that it might not be legit enough to be a WJR.

For crying out loud it used to be the WR!

MarkB
3 years ago

I was about to say 4:35 at 15 is amazing (and it is) but then saw Ye at 4:28 at 16!!

Justhereforfun
3 years ago

Does anyone know the real fastest time swam by a junior? It has to be Ye’s 4:28 right?

Teamwiess
Reply to  Braden Keith
3 years ago

That’s what bothers me about WJRs. They really are just fastest junior since 2013. Even as amazing the 435 is, there are at least two women aged 15-16 we know have been faster. Why not have a challenge period where associations but up their fastest documented time for juniors and set that as the WJR? Most of those swims where at high level meets. A set of criteria would have to be established but not hard to do. Any time not submitted during the challenge period can not be considered in the future

Teamwiess
Reply to  Braden Keith
3 years ago

I agree that would have been an issue for something like MTMs 200 Fly from 1981but for more recent swims where the appropriate doping controls were in place such as at the 2012 Olympics, it would have been useful. Know nothing will happen now but that would have made things more of a real WJR.

whever
Reply to  Teamwiess
3 years ago

Sometimes they are not even the fastest since 2013. Many swims are not ratified. For example Milak’s two 1:52 200 fly in 2018 were both ignored.

Teamwiess
Reply to  whever
3 years ago

Agree but the question is why didn’t they submit for ratification.

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

Read More »