Teen Phenom Yu Zidi Nominated for Laureus Breakthrough of the Year
While distance legend Katie Ledecky is nominated for the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award, several swimmers have been tabbed as finalists for other Laureus honors. In the Breakthrough Athlete of the Year category, China’s Yu Zidi is one of six contenders for the award.
Yu was a revelation during the 2025 campaign, as the then 12-year-old advanced to the finals of three events at the World Championships in Singapore. Yu was the fourth-place finisher in the 200 butterfly, 200 individual medley and 400 individual medley, and she earned a bronze medal in the 800 freestyle relay due to her contributions to China’s prelims squad.
Now 13, Yu continued to excel in the months following the World Champs, with her best performance arriving in the 200 IM at the Chinese National Games. At that competition, Yu established an Asian record of 2:07.41, her time bettering the 2:07.57 of Ye Shiwen from the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Three swimmers have been nominated for a Laureus Award in the category of Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability. Brazil’s Gabriel Araujo, Italy’s Simone Barlaam and Czechia’s David Kratochvil earned recognition for their performances in Para swimming competition.
Araujo, 23, is a star in the S2 classification. He is a five-time Paralympic gold medalist and six-time total medalist. At the 2025 World Para Swimming Championships in Singapore, he won the S2 100 back, 200 free and 50 back.
Barlaam, 25, won gold medals at Worlds in the S9 100 fly, 50 free, 100 free and 400 free. The Italian is an eight-time Paralympic gold medalist and eight-time total medalist at the Paralympic Games. He is a 21-time world champion.
Kratochvil, who turned 18 last October, won seven medals at the World Championships in Singapore. He won golds in four – the S11 50 free, 100 fly, 100 free and 500 free – plus silver in the 100 back and bronze in the SB11 100 breast and SM11 200 IM.
