China may have unearthed another swimming sensation in 12-year-old Hu Rundong, who turned heads by winning gold, setting records and meeting first-class standards at a provincial event this week.

Hu emerged as the stand-out performer in the junior swimming division at the 21st Jiangsu Provincial Games, winning five gold and four silver medals across 10 events.

Competing in the boys’ 12-year-old category, the Suzhou native competed in breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle and individual medley across short, middle and long distances.

His performances and times are already drawing comparisons with world breaststroke champion Qin Haiyang, whose junior times were slower than the ones Hu laid down this week.

Hu took gold in five events: the 100m breaststroke, 100m butterfly, 100m freestyle, 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke.

His time of two minutes, 25.39 seconds in the preliminary heats for the last of those distances was almost 10 seconds faster than the 2:35.00 benchmark required for China’s National First-Class Athlete status in a 50m pool.

It was still some way short of the fastest time this year, however. Japan’s Shin Ohashi set a world record of 2:04.83 last month at the Asian Games.

The tweenager also topped the 100m breaststroke heat in 1:10.07 to hit another first-class standard.

By comparison, Qin clocked around 1:15.00 over the same distance when transitioning to the stroke at a similar age.

Hu reached national first-class standards in several other events, winning the 100m butterfly heat in 59.27 seconds, the 200m butterfly final in 2:10.85, the 200m breaststroke final in 2:28.29 and the 200m individual medley all-around heat in 2:12.87.

He also met first-class marks in freestyle events, taking silver in the 400m final in 4:11.74 and finishing second in the 100m freestyle heat in 57.01 seconds.

In the 800m freestyle final, Hu secured silver in 8:42.71, narrowly missing gold but erasing the previous meet record of 8:42.57.

Alongside record-breaking performances in the 100m all-around events in breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle, Hu also shattered four meet records during the Games. He also placed fourth in the 100m backstroke all-around fast heat in 1:08.27.

Born to parents who were both swimmers, the 5ft 9in (1.77m) tall Hu has large hands and long feet, according to coach Zheng Liang.

However, Zheng emphasised that physical gifts alone do not account for his success.

“Being thoughtful, willing to study, and highly self-disciplined are this child’s most precious traits,” Zheng said.

Hu was discovered by Zheng while representing a club in an amateur league as a third-grader.

Impressed by his feel for the water and physical attributes, Zheng invited him for a trial at the Suzhou Children’s Amateur Sports School, where Hu subsequently began systematic training, but was a relatively late starter compared with his peers.

Hu balances his sport with a regular school routine, attending academic classes during the day before starting two-and-a-half hours of intensive training at 4pm, after which he returns home to finish his school homework.

While Hu excels across multiple disciplines, breaststroke remains his strongest event.

Looking ahead, Hu expressed ambitious goals following his dominant showcase.

“I hope I can perform better and win more gold medals at the next Provincial Games,” he said. “My target is the National Games [in 2029].”