"Too young?" - Fans go berserk as Chinese javelin thrower Ziyi Yan not allowed to compete in the Olympics despite breaking world record

Chinese athlete Ziyi Yan broke the World U-20 record in javelin throw with a throw of 64.28 meters at the Chinese Athletics Grand Prix. The record was previously held by Cuba's Yulenmis Aguilar, who recorded a throw of 63.86 meters at the Pan American Junior Edmonton in 2015.

The 15-year-old player has been surpassing the 60m regularly in their tournaments and did so four times in 2024.

However, despite her fabulous performance, Ziyi Yan won't be competing at the Olympics due to the World Athletics Regulations. According to the rule, athletes below the age of 18 will not be allowed to compete in the Olympics across any athletics events.

Fans reacted on X (formerly Twitter) as the young prospect wasn't allowed to compete at the Paris Olympics 2024.

"Too young? But does the Chinese relationship have such limitations? After all, 15-year-olds also win gold medals at the Olympics, but in other competitions," a fan wrote in Chinese.

"What on Earth! Just 15 y/o! What a prospect for Chinese Athletics Ziyi Yan!," Vishank Razdan wrote.

Ziyi Yan competed against the best athletes in China at the Chinese Athletics Grand Prix. Fans strongly feel that the teenager can compete at the Olympics as she has shared the stage with big names.

"These rules are strange. Was she throwing senior equipment? If she broke the world record, wouldn't she be able to start," another fan wrote in Chinese.

Another X user defended the World Athletics rule by stating that this step is taken to 'prevent overload'. The user wrote in Chinese:

"This is probably to prevent overload at a young age."

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Ziyi Yan becomes the youngest player to break the World U20 record in javelin throw

Chinese javelin thrower Ziyi Yan became the youngest player as she was 15 years and 328 days old when she broke the World U20 record in China. The previous record holder from Cuba was 18 years and 364 days old when she scripted history.

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