Chinese teen star Yu wins bronze in women's 200m individual medley

FUKUOKA, Japan, July 24 (Xinhua) -- China's 17-year-old Yu Yiting won the bronze medal of the women's 200 meters individual medley (IM) at the World Aquatics Championships here on Monday.

Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh, bronze and silver medalist respectively at the Tokyo Olympic Games, gave the United States a 1-2 finish.

Douglass claimed her first world title in a time of two minutes 7.17 seconds, while defending champion Walsh finished second in 2:07.97.

Yu, who qualified as the second-placed finisher in the semifinals, clocked 2:08.74 to earn China the third medal on the night, following Qin Haiyang's victory in the men's 100m breaststroke and Zhang Yufei's success in the women's 100m butterfly.

It was Yu's first appearance in the final in world championships. She was stopped in the semifinals in Gwangju, South Korea, in 2019 at the age of 13.

Her teammate Ye Shiwen, who rose to stardom by striking an individual medley golden double at the London Olympics, finished eighth in 2:14.27.