Luke Littler wins the World Darts Championship at 17 – however which different youngsters have lit up the worldwide sport? | Darts Information

After Luke Littler turned the youngest world champion in darts historical past on the age of 17, we glance again at a number of the sporting world’s most profitable teenage stars.

Boris Becker (tennis)

Like Littler, Becker received arguably his sport’s most prestigious occasion on the age of 17, triumphing at Wimbledon in 1985, turning into the All England Membership’s youngest males’s singles champion.

The German efficiently defended his title a yr later, then received it once more in 1989, earlier than ending his profession with six Grand Slam titles following successes on the Australian Open in 1991 and 1996 and on the US Open in 1989.

Becker additionally turned world no 1 in 1991.

Sky Brown (skateboard)

Brown turned Britain’s youngest Olympian and medalist when she received bronze within the girls’s park skateboarding occasion on the postponed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Regardless of falling on her first two makes an attempt, she managed the third and a podium place on the age of simply 13 years and 28 days. She then received one other Olympic bronze medal in Paris in 2024 on the age of 16.

Brown additionally received on the X Video games and park occasion of the 2023 World Skateboarding Championship to turn out to be the primary ever British skateboarding world champion.

Tom Daley (diving)

Daley started diving on the age of seven and commenced competing nationally and internationally at age 9. He was the youngest Olympian on the British workforce on the 2008 Beijing Video games, aged 14, however didn’t medal within the 10m or synchro occasions.

That yr he received gold on the British and European championships – and took gold on the world championships the next yr.

He was the so-called “poster boy” of the London 2012 Video games, profitable bronze within the 10m occasion, but it surely wasn’t till the Tokyo 2020 Olympics that he lastly reached his peak. profession aim of profitable an Olympic gold medal along with his companion Matty. Lee.

Katie Ledecky (swimming)

By her late teenagers, Ledecky had 5 Olympic gold medals and 9 world championship titles to her title.

Having began swimming on the age of six, she made her worldwide debut on the London 2012 Olympics at age 15 when she stunned spectators and coaches by profitable gold within the girls’s 800m freestyle.

She received 4 gold medals, two silvers and set two world data when she competed on the Rio 2016 Video games 4 years later.

Ledecky, nonetheless solely 27, took her Olympic medal tally to 14 when she received 4 on the 2024 Paris Video games.

Wilfred Benitez (boxing)

Wilfred “El Radar” Benitez turned the youngest world champion in boxing historical past when he defeated Antonio Cervantes at simply 17 years previous in March 1976.

He turned skilled at age 15 and was managed by his father, Gregorio Benitez. He and his brothers Frankie and Gregory belonged to one among Puerto Rico’s most distinguished boxing households, which constructed their success by New York Metropolis.

His victory in 1976 noticed him seize each the sunshine welterweight and lineal gentle welterweight titles.

Premier (soccer)

After a record-breaking profession, Pelé was thought of one of many biggest sportsmen of the twentieth century.

On the age of 15, his coach instructed membership officers in his native Sao Paolo that he would turn out to be the “biggest footballer on this planet.” A yr later, he was the highest scorer within the Brazilian nationwide league, incomes him a call-up to the nationwide workforce.

At 17 in 1958, he impressed his nation to World Cup victory with a hat-trick within the semi-final and two objectives within the remaining.

Wayne Gretzky (ice hockey)

Gretzky debuted with the Edmonton Oilers within the 1979-80 season and have become the primary teenager to attain 50 objectives in a season. The Nice One went on to attain probably the most factors in NHL historical past, with a complete of two,857 to this point.

He’s the one NHL participant to whole greater than 200 factors in a season, a feat he achieved 4 instances.

Ronnie O’Sullivan (snooker)

O’Sullivan turned skilled on the age of 16 in 1992, having received a match in simply 43 minutes in his first season.

A yr later, he turned the youngest winner of the UK Snooker Championship on the age of 17, whereas additionally profitable a Masters title at 19.

The Rocket has since turn out to be the oldest winner of every of the game’s Triple Crown occasions, profitable the World Championship at 46, the UK Championship at 47 and the Masters at 48.

Characterised by his attacking model and emotional outbursts, O’Sullivan is taken into account one of many biggest snooker gamers of all time and now has a document 41 rating titles, together with seven World Championship victories at The Crucible .

That longevity is one thing Littler will certainly aspire to.

Sachin Tendulkar (cricket)

Tendulkar was inspired to take up cricket at age 11 to get out of bother at college.

Now thought to be one of many biggest hitters the game has identified, he broke data by being the youngest participant to debut for India in each Check and 16-day worldwide cricket years.

He stays the very best run scorer in Check and ODI cricket.

In his late teenagers he made historical past when he was chosen to play for Yorkshire. The distinguished membership had by no means chosen a participant from exterior the county earlier than – not to mention England.

Michael Phelps (swimming)

Swimmer Phelps received six Olympic gold medals on the 2004 Athens Video games on the age of 19: 100m and 200m butterfly, 200m and 400m medley and two relays.

The American then added eight extra gold medals in Beijing in 2008 and 4 extra in London in 2012, whereas profitable 22 Olympic medals in whole in addition to 26 on the World Championships.