英文阅读挑战丨Yu leaves the competition in her wake, claiming a third Games gold and another Asiad record in the 400 IM

Thirteen-year-old Yu Zidi continued her remarkable Asian Games debut on Wednesday, winning the women's 400-meter individual medley in a Games-record time of 4:28.56 to claim her third gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Yu led from the early stages of the final at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre and maintained her advantage through all four strokes to finish comfortably ahead of teammate Ke Wenxi, who took silver.

The victory capped a remarkable four-day run for Yu, who has won all three individual events she has entered at the Games.

She opened her campaign on Sunday by winning the 200m butterfly in 2:05.08, breaking the Asian Games record of 2:05.57 set by compatriot Zhang Yufei at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

A day later, she produced another record-breaking performance in the 200m individual medley, clocking 2:06.10 to lower the Asian record previously held by teammate Yu Yiting.

Her 400m IM time on Wednesday also came within striking distance of another long-standing Asian record. Ye Shiwen's Asian record of 4:28.43, set at the 2012 London Olympics, however, remained intact — albeit only just — with Yu finishing just 0.13 seconds shy. The Asiad record she broke was Ye's 4:32.97 from the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

Yu's rapid rise has added another chapter to the long-running Chinese tradition of success in the individual medley. Ye became an Olympic champion in the 200m and 400m IM at London 2012, while, more recently, Yu Yiting emerged as another leading Chinese medley swimmer.

The rivalry between Yu Zidi and Yu Yiting has also helped push the event's standards higher. After finishing second behind her younger teammate in the 200m IM, Yu Yiting said the athletes need to keep improving their Asian records before they can realistically turn their attention to the world record.

Yu Zidi, meanwhile, has repeatedly emphasized that she still has room to improve.

"The details we discussed today were things I might not get right in training, so I needed to pay more attention to them," Yu said after her 200m IM victory. "I do not think about anything else. I just think about the little details and my movements."

She also described Yu Yiting as "a strong opponent" who pushes her "to keep improving and working hard".

Yu became the youngest medalist in World Championships swimming history last year at the age of 12, when she won bronze as part of China's 4x200m freestyle relay team in Singapore.

Her three individual golds in Tokyo have now made her one of the central figures of China's swimming campaign, while also underscoring the depth of talent emerging behind the country's established champions.

Reporter: Li Yingxue