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A 12-year-old Chinese girl and the eternal question: Wunderkinder are too valuable for the Olympic system to set strict age limits

The example of Yu Zidi, who is competing in the 200-metre medley final at the World Championships in Singapore today, has reignited the debate: how young can a professional athlete be, and how old must they be to compete in major competitions? What constitutes child labour? What should be banned?

,   and  Jens Weinreich
7 min read
World Aquatics database.

With regular irregularity, heated public discussions arise when the Olympic circus produces child prodigies. Depending on the nation and cardinal direction in which these prodigies appear, the arguments for and against are distorted beyond recognition. The latest example is the 12-year-old Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi, who will not celebrate her thirteenth birthday until 16 October – but who, in a few hours, could win a World Championship medal in the, well, adult competition in Singapore.

Sensational stories get clicks. In all its silly imperfection, this quote sums up the majority of the so-called reporting on Yu Zidi:

"However, Yu was granted special permission due to her outstanding times. She discovered her passion for swimming at the age of six when she was escaping the summer heat. ‘My father took me to a water park. One day, a coach came up to me and asked if I wanted to swim faster.’"

But the key question should really be: what came first, incredible times or thousands of hours of hard work?

The answer is clear.

But the answer is rarely given.

And I'm not even talking about another aspect of various fabulous achievements, I'm not even talking about doping.

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