Yu Yiting Breaks Chinese Record in Women’s 400 IM That Was Previously Set in 2012

World Aquatics World Cup #3 – Astana

Chinese swimmer Yu Yiting has broken the Chinese Record in the women’s 400 IM in 4:22.74. The previous record was 4:23.33 done by Ye Shiwen almost 14 years ago at the Short Course World Championships in Istanbul.

Ye’s record was set in 2012, the same year she won the 200 IM and 400 IM at the Olympic Games when she was only 16.

Yu now holds the Chinese Records in all three short course IM races after going 56.99 in the 100 IM and 2:02.80 in the 200 IM at the Baku World Cup stop earlier this month. Those are both Asian Records as well.

The 400 IM time from Thursday left her .01 seconds shy of Yui Ohashi‘s Asian Record that was set almost eight years ago at a World Cup in Japan.

Splits Comparison

The splits comparison shows how aggressive Yu is in her 400 IM. Her opening 57.37 butterfly split was right on the World Record pace of Summer McIntosh – en route to a final time of 4:15.48.

Yu was even more aggressive than she swam in Baku. She was 1.63 seconds faster through 200 meters in Astana (2:02.67 vs. 2:04.30), though ultimately only 1.35 seconds faster overall (4:22.74 vs. 4:24.09).

This 400 IM isn’t really a primary event for the 21-year-old Yu, though she does have a gold medal in it from the 2022 Asian Games in long course. She focuses more on the 200 IM in major international competitions, where she is a consistent medal contender.

At the 2026 Asian Games, she won gold in the 100 fly, silver in the 100 free, and silver in the 200 IM.

2026 has been a resurgent year for Yu in both short course and long course in the IMs. She has gone best times in all five available women’s IM events (including the long course 400 IM, where she dropped more than five seconds at Pan Pacs to touch in 4:33.09) after going best times in none of those races in 2025.