With the relay bronze won on Thursday, Yu became the youngest medalist in the championships' history, after having become the youngest to qualify for the worlds at the Chinese national trials in May and the youngest to advance to an individual final on July 28.

Yu also achieved new personal bests in all her three individual events in Singapore, surpassing some of the world's greatest swimmers in these respective events when they were 12, including Mi-chael Phelps of the United States, who is the most-decorated athlete in Olympic history, and McIntosh, a four-time Olympic gold medalist.

Looking back at her sensational international debut, Yu said she enjoyed every minute as a great learning experience.

"The world championships are much more intense than I imagined, and the atmosphere is really great. During warmup, the pool was very crowded and lively, but I adapted well," she told Xinhua News Agency on Saturday.

"I learned a lot. ... I want to learn McIntosh's turning technique. I take her as a role model and hope to become as excellent as her. I want to compete again at the next world championships, swim against the world's top swimmers, and try to stand on the podium," she said.

The rise of the Chinese prodigy has turned heads at the Singapore meet, with international rivals taking notice of her progress.

"She is amazing. She is still 12. Maybe she will go to LA (Los Angeles for the 2028 Olympics). Everyone is a bit scared of her already," Japanese swimming icon Rikako Ikee said on Saturday.

Led by strong performances from female swimmers, Team China collected four more medals on Sunday — two each of silver and bronze — to finish sixth on the overall swimming medal tally at the worlds with two gold, six silver and six bronze medals.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn