Luke Littler: Nine other teen sport sensations
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
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
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.
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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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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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The COP29 climate talks have reached a last ditch deal on cash for developing countries, pulling the summit back from the brink of collapse after a group of countries stormed out of a negotiating room earlier.
The slew of deals finally signed off in the small hours of Sunday morning in Azerbaijan includes one that proved hardest of all – one about money.
Eventually the more than 190 countries in Baku agreed a target for richer polluting countries such as the UK, EU and Japan to drum up $300bn a year by 2035 to help poorer nations both curb and adapt to climate change.
It is a far cry from the $1.3trn experts say is needed, and from the $500bn that vulnerable countries like Uganda had said they would be willing to accept.
But in the end they were forced to, knowing they could not afford to live without it, nor wait until next year to try again, when a Donald Trump presidency would make things even harder.
Bolivia’s lead negotiator Diego Pacheco called it an “insult”, while the Marshall Islands’ Tina Stege said it was “not nearly enough, but it’s a start”.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell said: “This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country.
“No country got everything they wanted, and we leave Baku with a mountain of work still to do. So this is no time for victory laps.”
The funding deal was clinched more than 24 hours into overtime, and against what felt like all the odds.
The talks were rocked from the start by the incoming presidency of climate denier Mr Trump, the moment Argentina’s team were recalled back to Buenos Aires by their right-wing president and a controversial letter that sent shockwaves through the United Nations.
Pic: AP
The fraught two weeks of negotiations pitted the anger of developing countries who are footing the bill for more dangerous weather that they did little to cause, against the tight public finances of rich countries.
A relieved Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, climate envoy for Panama, said there is “light at the end of the tunnel”.
Just hours ago, the talks almost fell apart as furious vulnerable nations stormed out of negotiations in frustration over that elusive funding goal.
They were also angry with oil and gas producing countries, who stood accused of trying to dilute aspects of the deal on cutting fossil fuels.
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Climate-vulnerable nations storm out of talks
The UN talks work on consensus, meaning everyone has to agree for a deal to fly.
A row over how to follow up on last year’s pledge to “transition away from fossil fuels” was left unresolved and punted into next year, following objections from Chile and Switzerland for being too weak.
A draft deal simply “reaffirmed” the commitment but did not dial up the pressure in the way the UK, EU, island states and many others here wanted.
Saudi Arabia fought the hardest against any step forward on cutting fossil fuels, the primary cause of climate change that is intensifying floods, drought and fires around the world.
Governments did manage to strike a deal on carbon markets at COP29, which has been 10 years in the making and will allow countries to trade emissions cuts.
‘Not everything we wanted’
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The UK’s energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said the deal is “not everything we or others wanted”, but described it as a “step forward”.
“It’s a deal that will drive forward the clean energy transition, which is essential for jobs and growth in Britain and for protecting us all against the worsening climate crisis,” he added.
“Today’s agreement sends the signal that the clean energy transition is unstoppable.
“It is the biggest economic opportunity of the 21st century and through our championing of it we can help crowd in private investment.”
Protesters at the summit in Baku. Pic: AP
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The Azerbaijan team leading COP29 said: “Every hour of the day, we have pulled people together. Every inch of the way, we have pushed for the highest common denominator.
“We have faced geopolitical headwinds and made every effort to be an honest broker for all sides.”
At least 20 people have been killed and 66 injured in Israeli strikes on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities have said.
Lebanon‘s health ministry said the death toll could rise as emergency workers dig through the rubble looking for survivors. DNA tests are being used to identify the victims, the ministry added.
The attack destroyed an eight-storey residential building and badly damaged several others around it in the Basta neighbourhood at 4am (2am UK time) on Saturday.
The central Basta neighbourhood in Beirut
The Israeli military did not warn residents to evacuate before the attack and has not commented on the casualties.
At least four bombs were dropped in the attack – the fourth targeting the city centre this week.
A separate drone strike in the southern port city of Tyre this morning killed two people and injured three, according to the state-run National News Agency.
The victims were Palestinian refugees from the nearby al Rashidieh camp who were out fishing, according to Mohammed Bikai, spokesperson for the Fatah Palestinian faction in the Tyre area.
Israel’s military warned residents today in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs that they were near Hezbollah facilities, which the army would target in the near future. The warning, posted on X, told people to evacuate at least 500 metres away.
The army said that over the past day it had conducted intelligence-based strikes on Hezbollah targets in Dahiyeh, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. It said it hit several command centres and weapons storage facilities.
Pic: AP
Israel has killed several Hezbollah leaders in air strikes on the capital’s southern suburbs.
Heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is ongoing in southern Lebanon, as Israeli forces push deeper into the country since launching a major offensive in September.
According to the Lebanese health ministry, at least 3,670 people have been killed in Israeli attacks there, with more than 15,400 wounded.
It has displaced about 1.2 million people – a quarter of Lebanon’s population – while Israel says about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed in northern Israel.
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Meanwhile, six people, including three children and two women, were killed in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis.
Some 44,176 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage.
US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region this week to try to end more than 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, ignited last October by the war in Gaza.
Mr Hochstein indicated progress had been made after meetings in Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday, before going to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz.
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