Schoolgirl swimmer shines at worlds

With a string of youngest records under her name and a world championships team medal around her neck, China's schoolgirl swimmer Yu Zidi has probably enjoyed the coolest summer holiday among all her peers.

Although the 12-year-old did not win any individual medal, she capped off her debut at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore as an instant hit with the sport's global community by becoming the youngest ever to qualify for the meet, the youngest to make it to a final, and the youngest to finish on the podium.

The preteen sensation completed her final individual event at the worlds on Sunday with another near-miss from the podium, as she clocked 4 minutes and 33.76 seconds to finish fourth in the women's 400 meters individual medley final.

Summer McIntosh of Canada, reigning Olympic champion and world record-holder, clinched gold with a time of 4:25.78, while Australia's Jenna Forrester and Japan's Mio Narita clocked the exact same time (4:33.26) to share silver.

No bronze medal is awarded to a fourth swimmer when a tied finish happens in a race, according to the rules of the world championships.

Yu had to settle for fourth position in her previous two individual events, finishing 0.06 second shy of the podium in the 200m individual medley on July 28 and 0.31 second behind third in the 200m butterfly on Thursday.

She will leave Singapore with a medal, however, as a member of China's bronze-winning women's 4x200m freestyle relay team.