In 2015, 10-year-old Alzain Tareq became the youngest swimmer to compete at the World Championships. Representing Bahrain, she raced at the FINA World Swimming Championships in Kazan, Russia.
Tareq competed in the 50-metre butterfly and was born on April 14, 2005. She was only ten when she took part in the August 2015 competition, making her the youngest female participant in the history of the championships and the youngest athlete to debut at the event at that time.
Her participation was possible because FINA’s rules then did not set a general minimum age for swimmers entering the senior World Championships. National federations could nominate athletes, although many other international competitions imposed stricter age requirements.
Tareq did not reach the final and finished last in her heat, but her appearance was historic because the achievement concerned participation at the senior world level, not winning a medal. Later reporting about other young swimmers sometimes revived comparisons with her record, but her 2015 debut remains the key fact behind this trivia question.