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A 16-year-old from Warrington fell agonisingly short of becoming the youngest ever world darts champion after capturing the nation’s attention.

Luke Littler was on the brink of history at Alexandra Palace on Wednesday night but eventually lost to Luke Humphries in the final.

However, the teenager did secure £200,000 in prize money for reaching the showpiece in north London, and has become a household name in the sport despite his age.

He swept away darts legend Raymond van Barneveld, a five-time world champion, to secure a place in the quarter-finals – before beating Northern Ireland’s Brendan Dolan to reach the semi-finals.

Littler then claimed victory over 2018 champion Rob Cross in the last four to become the youngest ever finalist in the competition’s history.

Over the years many other teenage athletes have left us in awe – from Emma Raducanu’s shock US Open win in 2021 to the days of teen Tom Daley in the 2000s and Pele in the 1960s.

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I’ll have pizza before final – darts prodigy

Boris Becker

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Boris Becker in Indianapolis, USA in 1985. Pic: AP
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Boris Becker in Indianapolis, USA in 1985. Pic: AP

Boris Becker’s long reign as a great of international tennis began in 1985 when he was just 17.

His win at the All England Club that year saw him become the youngest player to win the men’s singles title in Wimbledon history.

He went on to win 49 major titles, including six grand slams, making it to world number one in 1991.

Becker won Wimbledon three times in the 1980s, as well as the Australian and US Opens – and an Olympic gold in Barcelona in 1992.

In later years, plagued by financial and tax worries, he was eventually given a prison sentence for failing to declare £2.5m in assets and was deported to his native Germany on his release in December 2022.

Wilfred Benitez

Wilfred Benitez wins to become world champion in 1976. Pic: AP
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Wilfred Benitez wins to become world champion in 1976. Pic: AP

Wilfred ‘El Radar’ Benitez became the youngest world champion in boxing history when he beat Antonio Cervantes at just 17 in March 1976.

He turned pro at 15 and was managed by his father, Gregorio Benitez. He and his brothers Frankie and Gregory were from one of Puerto Rico’s prominent boxing families, forging their success via New York City.

His 1976 win saw him claim both the light welterweight and lineal light welterweight titles.

Read more:
Who is ‘Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler?

Chess champion suspended after defecating in bathtub

Around 10 years later doctors discovered he had suffered neurological damage in the ring and urged him to retire.

Determined to carry on, he was forced to fight abroad after being banned from competing by several US states.

Today he suffers from dementia and is cared for by family members at home.

Sky Brown

Sky Brown at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021
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Sky Brown at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021

Sky Brown became Great Britain’s youngest-ever Olympian and medal winner when she took bronze in the women’s park skateboarding event at the postponed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Despite falling on her first two attempts – she made the third for a spot on the podium at the age of just 13 years and 28 days.

With a British father and Japanese mother, Brown splits her time between Miyazaki and California – but took the decision to compete for Team GB.

Since her Olympic medal, she has won at the X Games and the park event at the 2023 World Skateboarding Championship to become the first-ever British skateboarding world champion.

Her younger brother Ocean Brown is also a talented skateboarder.

Tom Daley

Tom Daley celebrates his bronze medal win at London 2012
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Tom Daley celebrates his bronze medal win at London 2012

Tom Daley began diving aged seven in his hometown of Plymouth and started competing both nationally and internationally aged nine.

He was Team GB’s youngest Olympian at the Beijing Games in 2008, aged 14, but failed to secure a medal in the 10m or synchro events.

That year he won gold at the British and European championships – and secured gold at the world championships the following year.

He was a so-called ‘poster boy’ for the London 2012 Games, winning bronze in the 10m event.

Daley has spoken regularly about the pressures of being a young sports star in the public eye.

It wasn’t until the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo that he finally achieved his career goal of winning an Olympic gold with his partner Matty Lee.

Katie Ledecky

Katie Leckedy wins gold in the 800m women's freestyle at London 2012
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Katie Leckedy wins gold in the 800m women’s freestyle at London 2012

Still aged just 26, American swimmer Katie Ledecky is one of the most decorated in history.

By the end of her teens, she had five Olympic golds and nine world championship titles to her name.

Having started swimming aged six, she made her international debut at the London 2012 Olympics at 15 when she surprised spectators and coaches by winning gold in the women’s 800m freestyle.

She won four golds, two silvers, and secured two world records when she competed at Rio 2016 four years later.

Ledecky still holds various world records, achieving her first for the fastest 1,500m freestyle at the Barcelona 2013 World Championships aged 16.

Pele

Pele in 1960. Pic: AP
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Pele in 1960. Pic: AP

After a record-breaking career, Pele was regarded as one of the greatest sportsmen of the 20th century.

At the age of 15, his coach told club directors in his native Sao Paolo he would become the “greatest football player in the world”.

A year later he was the top scorer in Brazil’s national league, leading to a call-up from the national team.

At 17 in 1958, he inspired his country’s World Cup win with a hat-trick in the semi-final and two goals in the final.

Ultimately he scored 1,279 goals across 1,363 games, which is still a Guinness World Record.

Emma Raducanu

Emma Raducanu at the US Open in New York, September 2021. Pic: AP
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Emma Raducanu at the US Open in New York, September 2021. Pic: AP

Emma Raducanu, from Bromley, in south London, first made her name as a wildcard entry at Wimbledon in June 2021.

At just 18 she became the youngest British woman and only the fourth British teenager in the Open era to make the last 16 of the tournament.

She impressed with her defeat over Sorana Cirstea – but had to retire in the fourth round against Ajla Tomljanovic due to breathing problems.

Then ranked 150th in the world, she won her way into the main draw of the US Open that autumn.

She became the first British woman to reach the final since Virginia Wade in 1968 – and didn’t drop a single set on her way to winning the tournament outright.

This saw her jump 332 places in the world rankings from her position at the start of the year to Number 23.

She won BBC Sports Personality of the Year that December and has since secured lucrative sponsorship deals from Nike, Dior, British Airways and Tiffany & Co.

Ronnie O Sullivan

Ronnie O Sullivan becomes Hedges Masters champion at 19 in 1995
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Ronnie O Sullivan became Hedges Masters champion at 19 in 1995

Nicknamed ‘The Rocket’, Ronnie O’Sullivan turned professional at the age of 16 in 1992, having won a match in just 43 minutes during his debut season.

A year later he became the youngest ever winner of the UK Snooker Championships when he beat fellow teenager Stephen Hendry. At 19 he had also secured a Masters title.

Two years ago he bookended his career by becoming the oldest winner of the same championship he broke the record for at 16.

Characterised by his attacking style and emotional outbursts, O’Sullivan is regarded as one of the greatest snooker players of all time.

Sachin Tendulkar

Tendulkar at The Oval in 1992 aged 19
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Tendulkar at The Oval in 1992 aged 19

Sachin Tendulkar was encouraged to take up cricket at 11 as a means of getting out of trouble at school.

Now regarded as one of the greatest batters the sport has seen, he broke records for being the youngest player to debut for India in both Test and one-day international cricket at 16.

He remains the leading run scorer in Test and ODI cricket.

He worked as a ball boy during the 1987 Cricket World Cup in the semi-final between England and Bombay.

Towards the end of his teenage years, he made history when he was selected to play for Yorkshire. The prestigious club side had never chosen a player from outside the county before – let alone England.

He ascended to the captaincy of the Indian national team and had major success domestically for Mumbai.

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs – in worst day for indexes since COVID

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs - in worst day for indexes since COVID

Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.

While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.

As it happened: Worst week’s trading in five years

All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.

The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.

Read more: What’s a bear market?

Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.

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Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.

The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.

And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.

Pic: Reuters
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US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters

Trump holds trade deal talks – reports

It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indian and Israeli representatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.

The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.

Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.

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Do Trump’s tariffs add up?

Read more:
Markets gave Trump a clear no-confidence vote
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow

China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.

Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.

Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.

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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump

He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’

“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they're also battling with another problem

Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.

The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.

The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.

Tariffs latest: FTSE 100 suffers biggest daily drop since COVID

Financial investors had been gradually re-calibrating their expectations of Donald Trump over the past few months.

Hopes that his actions may not match his rhetoric were dashed on Wednesday as he imposed sweeping tariffs on the US’ trading partners, ratcheting up protectionism to a level not seen in more than a century.

Markets were always going to respond to that but they are also battling with another problem: the lack of certainty when it comes to Trump.

More on Donald Trump

He is a capricious figure and we can only guess his next move. Will he row back? How far is he willing to negotiate and offer concessions?

Read more:
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow
Trade war sparks ‘$2.2trn’ global market sell-off

These are massive unknowns, which are piled on to uncertainty about how countries will respond.

China has already retaliated and Europe has indicated it will go further.

That will compound the problems for the global economy and undoubtedly send shivers through the markets.

Much is yet to be determined, but if there’s one thing markets hate, it’s uncertainty.

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.

His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.

The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.

The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.

Demonstrators who stayed overnight near the constitutional court wait for the start of a rally calling for the president to step down. Pic: AP
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Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP

Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.

The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.

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More on South Korea

The Constitutional Court is under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement of the impeachment trial. Pic: AP
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The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP

After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.

He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.

His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.

The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.

South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.

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