(YANG ZONGYOU)

Ye Shiwen, a teenage Chinese swimming sensation, won the women's 200-meter individual medley at the 14th FINA World Swimming Championships in Shanghai on July 25.

This is the first gold medal in swimming a Chinese competitor has won in this year's championships.

Ye, born in 1996 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, started training as a swimmer at the age of 6. As early as 2008, when she was only 12, Ye won a gold, two silver and two bronze medals in the Zhejiang Provincial Games. After that, she joined Zhejiang Province's swimming squad and was later chosen as a member of the National Swimming Team.

Last year, at the 16th Asian Games, Ye won the women's 400-meter individual medley gold and 200-meter individual medley gold. The talented athlete is said to be a promising championship contender in these events at the 2012 London Olympic Games.