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.

Boris Becker

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 ‘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 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 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

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

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, 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

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

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.