Luke Littler: Nine other teen sport sensations

Published

11 months ago

January 4, 2024

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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.

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.

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.

World

Body pulled from mine after police cut off supplies to ‘smoke out’ thousands of illegal miners

Published

23 mins ago

November 14, 2024

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Body pulled from mine after police cut off supplies to 'smoke out' thousands of illegal miners

A body has been recovered from a South African mine after police cut off basic supplies in an effort to force around 4,000 illegal miners to resurface.

The body has emerged from the closed gold mine in the northwest town of Stilfontein a day after South Africa’s government said it would not help the illegal miners.

Around 20 people have surfaced from the mineshaft this week as police wait nearby to arrest all those appearing from underground.

It comes a day after a cabinet minister said the government was trying to “smoke them [the miners] out”.

The move is part of the police’s “Close the Hole” operation, whereby officers cut off supplies of food, water and other basic necessities to get those who have entered illegally to come out.

Local reports suggest the supply routes were cut off at the mine around two months ago, with relatives of the miners seen in the area as the stand-off continues.

A decomposed body was brought up on Thursday, with pathologists on the scene, police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said.

It comes after South African cabinet minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told reporters on Wednesday that the government would not send any help to the illegal miners, known in the country as zama zamas, because they are involved in a criminal act.

“We are not sending help to criminals. We are going to smoke them out. They will come out. Criminals are not to be helped; criminals are to be prosecuted. We didn’t send them there,” Ms Ntshavheni said.

Senior police and defence officials are expected to visit the area on Friday to “reinforce the government’s commitment to bringing this operation to a safe and lawful conclusion”, according to a media advisory from the police.

In the last few weeks, over 1,000 miners have surfaced at various mines in South Africa’s North West province, where police have cut off supplies.

Many of the miners were reported to be weak, hungry and sickly after going for weeks without basic supplies.

Illegal mining remains common in South Africa’s old gold-mining areas, with miners going into closed shafts to dig for any possible remaining deposits.

The illegal miners are often from neighbouring countries, and police say the illegal operations involve larger syndicates that employ the miners.

Their presence in closed mines has also created problems with nearby communities, which complain that the illegal miners commit crimes ranging from robberies to rape.

Illegal mining groups are known to be heavily armed and disputes between rival groups sometimes result in fatal confrontations.

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Ukrainian frontline commander warns: ‘The world is scared of Russia and losing is not only our problem’

Published

3 hours ago

November 14, 2024

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Ukrainian frontline commander warns: 'The world is scared of Russia and losing is not only our problem'

In the courtyard of a farmhouse now home to soldiers of the Ukrainian army’s 47th mechanised brigade, I’m introduced to a weary-looking unit by their commander Captain Oleksandr “Sasha” Shyrshyn.

We are about 10km from the border with Russia, and beyond it lies the Kursk region Ukraine invaded in the summer – and where this battalion is now fighting.

The 47th is a crack fighting assault unit.

They’ve been brought to this area from the fierce battles in the country’s eastern Donbas region to bolster Ukrainian forces already here.

War latest: Russia ready to carry out ‘massive attack’

Captain Shyrshyn explains that among the many shortages the military has to deal with, the lack of infantry is becoming a critical problem.

Sasha is just 30 years old, but he is worldly-wise. He used to run an organisation helping children in the country’s east before donning his uniform and going to war.

He is famous in Ukraine and is regarded as one of the country’s top field commanders, who isn’t afraid to express his views on the war and how it’s being waged.

His nom de guerre is ‘Genius’, a nickname given to him by his men.

‘Don’t worry, it’s not a minefield’

Sasha invited me to see one of the American Bradley fighting vehicles his unit uses.

We walk down a muddy lane before he says it’s best to go cross-country.

“We can go that way, don’t worry it’s not a minefield,” he jokes.

He leads us across a muddy field and into a forest where the vehicle is hidden from Russian surveillance drones that try to hunt both American vehicles and commanders.

Sasha shows me a picture of the house they had been staying in only days before – it was now completely destroyed after a missile strike.

Fortunately, neither he, nor any of his men, were there at the time.

“They target commanders,” he says with a smirk.

‘The world is scared of Russia’

It takes me a moment or two to realise we are only a few steps away from the Bradley, dug in and well hidden beneath the trees.

Sasha tells me the Bradley is the finest vehicle he has ever used.

A vehicle so good, he says, it’s keeping the Ukrainian army going in the face of Russia’s overwhelming numbers of soldiers.

He explains: “Almost all our work on the battlefield is cooperation infantry with the Bradley. So we use it for evacuations, for moving people from one place to another, as well as for fire-covering.

“This vehicle is very safe and has very good characteristics.”

Billions of dollars in military aid has been given to Ukraine by the United States, and this vehicle is one of the most valuable assets the US has provided.

Ukraine is running low on men to fight, and the weaponry it has is not enough, especially if it can’t fire long-range missiles into Russia itself – which it is currently not allowed to do.

If President-elect Donald Trump cuts the supply of military aid, the Ukrainians will lose – it’s that simple.

Sasha says: “We have a lack of weapons, we have a lack of artillery, we have a lack of infantry, and as the world doesn’t care about justice, and they don’t want to finish the war by our win, they are afraid of Russia.

“I’m sorry but they’re scared, they’re scared, and it’s not the right way.”

Like pretty much everyone in Ukraine, Sasha is waiting to see what the US election result will mean for his country.

He is sceptical about a deal with Russia.

“Our enemy only understands the language of power. And you cannot finish the war in 24 hours, or during the year without hard decisions, without a fight, so it’s impossible. It’s just talking without results,” he tells me.

‘Losing will be not only our problem’

These men expect the fierce battles inside Kursk to intensify in the coming days.

Indeed, alongside the main supply route into Kursk, workers are already building new defensive positions – unfurling miles of razor wire and digging bunkers for the Ukrainian army if it finds itself in retreat.

Sasha and his men are realistic about support fatigue from the outside world but will keep fighting to the last if they have to.

“I understand this is only our problem, it’s only our issue, and we have to fight this battle, like we have to defend ourselves, it’s our responsibility,” Sasha said.

But he points out everyone should realise just how critical this moment in time is.

“If we look at it widely, we have to understand that us losing will be not only our problem, but it will be for all the world.”

Stuart Ramsay reports from northeastern Ukraine with camera operator Toby Nash, and producers Dominique Van Heerden, Azad Safarov, and Nick Davenport.

World

Spain flooding: New weather warnings issued – as country counts flooding cost

Published

3 hours ago

November 14, 2024

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Spain flooding: New weather warnings issued - as country counts flooding cost

A weather warning has been issued for parts of Spain, as the country counts the cost of recent flooding.

The orange warnings are in place for parts of southwestern Spain – the area around Seville down towards Gibraltar.

Up to 8cm (3ins) of rain could fall within 12 hours, but the weekend looks much more settled in the country.

The latest warnings come just two weeks after flash flooding in Valencia and other parts of the country killed more than 200 people.

Malaga saw 14.2cm (5.6ins) of rainfall on Wednesday – Spain’s highest of the day – most of which fell in six hours.

All train services were halted in Malaga. Some flights have now resumed after the initial disruption.

Emergency services in the province have moved 3,000 people from homes at risk of flooding close to the Guadalhorce River in the west of the city.

Jamie Marchant, 29, from Caerphilly in South Wales travelled to Malaga last Wednesday.

He told Sky News that “debris” had been left behind by the recent rainfall in the region.

“Everyone is pitching in to clean up and some shops are opening as usual,” he added.

Orange warnings for the Valencia region in eastern Spain expired earlier on Thursday.

The adverse weather could lead to total insured losses of more than €4bn (£3.33bn), according to credit rating agency Morningstar DBRS.

Much of the claims are expected to be covered by the Spanish government’s insurance pool, the agency said, but insurance premiums are likely to increase.