Li Bingjie Named Asian Female Swimmer of the Year

See all of our 2025 Swammy Awards here.

For the fourth consecutive year, our Swammy Award for Asian Female of the Year is bestowed upon a swimmer from China.

Already a winner in 2022, 23-year-old Olympic medalist Li Bingjie surged to the top of the candidate list, primarily due to her notable performances at this year’s World Championships.

In Singapore, Li collected a pair of silver medals, earning runner-up status in both the women’s 200 and 400 freestyle events. She also nabbed bronze after anchoring the Chinese women’s 4×200 free relay in 1:54.84.

Li’s top swim in Singapore came in the final of the 400 free, where she put up a time of 3:58.21 to shatter her previous Asian and Chinese Record and beat Katie Ledecky (3:58.49) head-to-head.

Entering the competition, Li’s PB and Asian Record stood at the 3:59.99 she put up at the 2025 Chinese National Championships in May. That previous performance represented the ace’s first-ever time under the 4:00 barrier, becoming just the sixth woman ever to do so.

Her 3:58.21 also moved her up to #4 all-time, only trailing Summer McIntosh (3:54.18), Ariarne Titmus (3:55.38) and Ledecky (3:56.46).

In the 200 free, Li dropped a full second off her best time to win silver in 1:54.52, putting her just 26 one-hundredths back of the Chinese Record (1:54.26). That swim impressively came just one night after she placed 4th in the women’s 1500 free in 15:49.54.

Not resting on her laurels, Li raced at this year’s edition of the prestigious Chinese National Games in Shenzhen. She picked up a trio of gold medals, hitting 4:01.17 in the 400 free,8:19.00 in the 800 free and 15:55.40 in the 1500 free to sweep the mid-distance events.

Li concludes her 2025 year of racing ranked 2nd in the world in the 200 free, 3rd in the 400 free, 4th in the 1500 free and 5th in the 800 free.

Li has been on the elite international racing scene since she broke through with a trio of golds as a 14-year-old at the 2016 Junior Pan Pacific Championships. Nine years later and Li continues to improve, perhaps providing some foreshadowing of her potential at the 2028 Olympic Games.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

* Yu Zidi (CHN) – Our Swammy Award winner for World Junior Female Swimmer of the Year had a