After Luke Littler became darts’ youngest ever world champion at the age of 17, we look back at some of the sport’s most successful teenage stars.
Boris Becker (tennis)
Like Littler, Becker won perhaps the sport’s most prestigious tournament at the age of 17, winning Wimbledon in 1985 and becoming the youngest men’s singles champion at the All England Club.
The German successfully defended his title a year later and won it again in 1989, but after success at the Australian Open in 1991 and 1996, and the US Open in 1989, he won six. He ended his career with a Grand Slam title.
Becker also became world number one in 1991.
Sky brown (skateboard)
Image: Skateboarder Skye Brown won two Olympic bronze medals for Great Britain as a teenager.
Brown won bronze in the women’s park skateboarding event at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, becoming Britain’s youngest Olympic athlete and medal winner.
Despite falling on her first two attempts, she secured a podium spot on her third attempt at just 13 years and 28 days old. Later, she also won a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics at the age of 16.
Brown also won the park event at the X Games and the 2023 World Skateboarding Championships, becoming Britain’s first skateboarding world champion.
Tom Daly (diving)
Daley started diving at age 7 and began competing nationally and internationally at age 9. At the age of 14, she became Team GB’s youngest Olympian at the 2008 Beijing Games, but failed to win a medal in the 10m or synchro events.
That year he won gold at the British and European Championships, and the following year at the World Championships.
Image: Tom Daly became Britain’s youngest Olympian at the 2008 Beijing Games, aged just 14.
He was the so-called ‘poster player’ at the 2012 London Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the 10m event, but it wasn’t until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics that he finally achieved his career goal of winning an Olympic gold medal with partner Matti. Mr. Lee.
Katie Ledecky (swimming)
By the end of his teens, Ledecky had won five Olympic gold medals and nine world championship titles.
She started swimming at the age of six and made her international debut at the 2012 London Olympics at the age of 15, surprising spectators and coaches by winning gold in the women’s 800m freestyle.
She competed in Rio 2016 four years later, winning four gold medals, two silver medals, and setting two world records.
Ledecky, who is just 27 years old, increased his Olympic medal count to 14 with four at the 2024 Paris Games.
Image: Swimmer Katie Ledecky appeared at the 2012 London Olympics at the age of 15
Wilfred Benitez (boxing)
Wilfred “El Radar” Benitez became the youngest world champion in boxing history when he defeated Antonio Cervantes in March 1976 at just 17 years old.
He turned professional at the age of 15 and was coached by his father, Gregorio Benitez. He and his brothers Frankie and Gregory come from a prominent boxing family in Puerto Rico and built their success through New York City.
With his 1976 victory, he won both the light welterweight and lineal light welterweight titles.
Pele (soccer)
Image: Pele won the World Cup with Brazil in 1958 at the age of 17.
After a record-breaking career, Pele was considered one of the greatest sportsmen of the 20th century.
At age 15, his coach told the club manager in his hometown of São Paulo that he would become “the greatest soccer player in the world.” A year later, he became the top scorer in Brazil’s domestic league, leading to a call-up to the national team.
In 1958, at the age of 17, he scored a hat trick in the semi-finals and two goals in the final, helping his country win the World Cup.
Wayne Gretzky (ice hockey)
Gretzky debuted with the Edmonton Oilers in the 1979-80 season, becoming the first teenager to score 50 goals in a season. “The Great One” is the leading scorer in NHL history with 2,857 points to date.
He is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in a season, accomplishing the feat four times.
Ronnie O’Sullivan (snooker)
O’Sullivan turned professional in 1992 at the age of 16, winning a match in just 43 minutes in his debut season.
A year later, he became the youngest winner of the British Snooker Championship at the age of 17, and also won the Masters title at 19.
Image: Ronnie O’Sullivan played snooker as a teenager and well into his 40s.
Since then, Lockett has become the oldest winner of each of the sport’s Triple Crown events, winning the World Championship at 46, the British Championship at 47 and the Masters at 48.
Characterized by his aggressive style and emotional outbursts, O’Sullivan is considered one of the greatest snooker players of all time and currently has 41 ranking titles under his belt, including seven World Championship wins at the Crucible. I’m doing it.
That longevity is definitely something Littler covets.
Sachin Tendulkar (cricket)
Tendulkar was encouraged to take up cricket at the age of 11 as a way out of trouble at school.
Currently regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of the sport, he broke the record of being the youngest player to make his debut for India in both Test cricket and One-Day International cricket at the age of 16.
He remains the leading run scorer in Test and ODI cricket.
In his late teens, he made history when he was selected to play for Yorkshire. This prestigious club has never selected a player from outside the county, let alone from England.
Michael Phelps (swimming)
A swimmer, Phelps won six Olympic gold medals in the 100 and 200 meter butterfly, 200 and 400 meter medley, and two relays at the 2004 Athens Games at the age of 19.
The American won eight more gold medals in Beijing in 2008 and four more in London in 2012, bringing his total to 22 medals at the Olympics and 26 at the World Championships.
