{"id":88684,"date":"2024-01-04T03:36:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-04T03:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.estaql.com\/luke-littler-nine-other-teen-sport-sensations-uk-news\/"},"modified":"2024-01-04T03:36:00","modified_gmt":"2024-01-04T03:36:00","slug":"luke-littler-nine-other-teen-sport-sensations-uk-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/luke-littler-nine-other-teen-sport-sensations-uk-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Luke Littler: Nine other teen sport sensations | UK News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<h2>Luke Littler: Nine other teen sport sensations | UK News<\/h2>\n<p>Luke Littler: Nine other teen sport sensations | UK News<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/01\/70x70\/skynews-emma-raducanu-pele_6411034.jpg?20240103114225\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<div data-component-name=\"sdc-article-body\" data-highlight-intro=\"true\">\n<p>A 16-year-old from Warrington fell agonisingly short of becoming the youngest ever world darts champion after capturing the nation&#8217;s attention. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Luke Littler <\/strong>was on the brink of history at Alexandra Palace on Wednesday night but eventually lost to Luke Humphries in the final.<\/p>\n<p>However, the teenager did secure \u00a3200,000 in prize money for reaching the showpiece in north London, and has become a household name in the sport despite his age.<\/p>\n<p>He <strong>swept away darts legend Raymond van Barneveld<\/strong>, a five-time world champion, to secure a place in the quarter-finals &#8211; before beating Northern Ireland&#8217;s Brendan Dolan to reach the semi-finals.<\/p>\n<p>Littler then claimed <strong>victory over 2018 champion Rob Cross <\/strong>in the last four to become the youngest ever finalist in the competition&#8217;s history.<\/p>\n<p>Over the years many other teenage athletes have left us in awe &#8211; from Emma Raducanu&#8217;s shock US Open win in 2021 to the days of teen Tom Daley in the 2000s and Pele in the 1960s.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-site-video callfn\" data-account-id=\"6058004172001\" data-amp-iframe-embed=\"\" data-asset-id=\"b69572ea-227d-4977-aa53-54660d1ef041\" data-asset-path=\"\" data-asset-version=\"\" data-autoplay=\"\" data-auth-config=\"\" data-caption=\"I'll have pizza before final - darts prodigy\" data-clip-type=\"\" data-component-name=\"sdc-site-video\" data-competition=\"\" data-copy-url-text=\"URL copied to clipboard\" data-fn=\"sdc-site-video\" data-id=\"id_b69572ea-227d-4977-aa53-54660d1ef041\" data-is-live-stream=\"false\" data-lite=\"true\" data-options=\"\" data-originator-id=\"51\" data-originator-handle=\"brightcove-news-gb\" data-package-name=\"\" data-provider=\"brightcove\" data-player-id=\"RC9PQUaJ6\" data-playsinline=\"\" data-sensitive=\"false\" data-sdc-id=\"6410671\" data-sdc-video-id=\"b69572ea-227d-4977-aa53-54660d1ef041\" data-sport-category=\"\" data-state=\"loading\" data-token-state=\"none\" data-video-ad-unit=\"\" data-video-blacklisted-originator-ids=\"\" data-video-id=\"ref:b69572ea-227d-4977-aa53-54660d1ef041\" data-video-type=\"\" data-auto-pause-on-not-visible=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" data-closed-captions-position=\"middle-third\" data-show-closed-captions=\"true\" data-show-pip=\"true\" data-show-live-stream-scrubber=\"true\">\n<div class=\"sdc-site-video__inner\">\n<div class=\"sdc-site-video__content\" data-role=\"bridge-controller\" style=\"padding-bottom: calc(100% \/ ());\">\n<p class=\"sdc-site-video__accessibility-message\" data-role=\"accessibility-message\">Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<\/p>\n<p>              <span aria-hidden=\"true\" data-role=\"poster\" class=\"sdc-site-video__poster\"><\/p>\n<p>              <span class=\"sdc-site-video__loader\"\/><br \/>\n                <span class=\"sdc-site-video__time\">0:57<\/span><br \/>\n              <\/span><\/p>\n<p>              <video id=\"id_b69572ea-227d-4977-aa53-54660d1ef041\" data-embed=\"default\" data-application-id=\"\" class=\"video-js sdc-site-video__tag\" controls=\"\" playsinline=\"\"\/>\n            <\/div><figcaption class=\"sdc-site-video__caption ui-media-caption\">\n<p>              <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\" data-role=\"caption-text\">I&#8217;ll have pizza before final &#8211; darts prodigy<\/span><br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Boris Becker<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image\">\n<figure class=\"sdc-article-image__figure\">\n<div class=\"sdc-article-image__wrapper\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"ui-media-caption\">\n        <span class=\"u-hide-visually\">Image:<\/span><br \/>\n        <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\">Boris Becker in Indianapolis, USA in 1985. Pic: AP<br \/>\n        <\/span><br \/>\n      <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Boris Becker&#8217;s long reign as a great of international tennis began in 1985 when he was just 17.<\/p>\n<p>His win at the All England Club that year saw him become the youngest player to win the men&#8217;s singles title in Wimbledon history.<\/p>\n<p>He went on to win 49 major titles, including six grand slams, making it to world number one in 1991.<\/p>\n<p>Becker won Wimbledon three times in the 1980s, as well as the Australian and US Opens &#8211; and an Olympic gold in Barcelona in 1992.<\/p>\n<p>In later years, plagued by financial and tax worries, he was eventually given a prison sentence for failing to declare \u00a32.5m in assets and was deported to his native Germany on his release in December 2022.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Wilfred Benitez<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image\">\n<figure class=\"sdc-article-image__figure\">\n<div class=\"sdc-article-image__wrapper\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"ui-media-caption\">\n        <span class=\"u-hide-visually\">Image:<\/span><br \/>\n        <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\">Wilfred Benitez wins to become world champion in 1976. Pic: AP<br \/>\n        <\/span><br \/>\n      <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Wilfred &#8216;El Radar&#8217; Benitez became the youngest world champion in boxing history when he beat Antonio Cervantes at just 17 in March 1976.<\/p>\n<p>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&#8217;s prominent boxing families, forging their success via New York City.<\/p>\n<p>His 1976 win saw him claim both the light welterweight and lineal light welterweight titles.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read more:<br \/>Who is &#8216;Luke &#8216;The Nuke&#8217; Littler?<\/strong><br \/><strong>Chess champion suspended after defecating in bathtub<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Around 10 years later doctors discovered he had suffered neurological damage in the ring and urged him to retire.<\/p>\n<p>Determined to carry on, he was forced to fight abroad after being banned from competing by several US states.<\/p>\n<p>Today he suffers from dementia and is cared for by family members at home.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sky Brown <\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image\">\n<figure class=\"sdc-article-image__figure\">\n<div class=\"sdc-article-image__wrapper\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"ui-media-caption\">\n        <span class=\"u-hide-visually\">Image:<\/span><br \/>\n        <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\">Sky Brown at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021<br \/>\n        <\/span><br \/>\n      <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Sky Brown became Great Britain&#8217;s youngest-ever Olympian and medal winner when she took bronze in the women&#8217;s park skateboarding event at the postponed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.<\/p>\n<p>Despite falling on her first two attempts &#8211; she made the third for a spot on the podium at the age of just 13 years and 28 days.<\/p>\n<p>With a British father and Japanese mother, Brown splits her time between Miyazaki and California &#8211; but took the decision to compete for Team GB.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Her younger brother Ocean Brown is also a talented skateboarder.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tom Daley<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image\">\n<figure class=\"sdc-article-image__figure\">\n<div class=\"sdc-article-image__wrapper\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"ui-media-caption\">\n        <span class=\"u-hide-visually\">Image:<\/span><br \/>\n        <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\">Tom Daley celebrates his bronze medal win at London 2012<br \/>\n        <\/span><br \/>\n      <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Tom Daley began diving aged seven in his hometown of Plymouth and started competing both nationally and internationally aged nine.<\/p>\n<p>He was Team GB&#8217;s youngest Olympian at the Beijing Games in 2008, aged 14, but failed to secure a medal in the 10m or synchro events.<\/p>\n<p>That year he won gold at the British and European championships &#8211; and secured gold at the world championships the following year.<\/p>\n<p>He was a so-called &#8216;poster boy&#8217; for the London 2012 Games, winning bronze in the 10m event.<\/p>\n<p>Daley has spoken regularly about the pressures of being a young sports star in the public eye.<\/p>\n<p>It wasn&#8217;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.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Katie Ledecky<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image\">\n<figure class=\"sdc-article-image__figure\">\n<div class=\"sdc-article-image__wrapper\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"ui-media-caption\">\n        <span class=\"u-hide-visually\">Image:<\/span><br \/>\n        <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\">Katie Leckedy wins gold in the 800m women&#8217;s freestyle at London 2012<br \/>\n        <\/span><br \/>\n      <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Still aged just 26, American swimmer Katie Ledecky is one of the most decorated in history.<\/p>\n<p>By the end of her teens, she had five Olympic golds and nine world championship titles to her name.<\/p>\n<p>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&#8217;s 800m freestyle.<\/p>\n<p>She won four golds, two silvers, and secured two world records when she competed at Rio 2016 four years later.<\/p>\n<p>Ledecky still holds various world records, achieving her first for the fastest 1,500m freestyle at the Barcelona 2013 World Championships aged 16.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pele<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image\">\n<figure class=\"sdc-article-image__figure\">\n<div class=\"sdc-article-image__wrapper\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"ui-media-caption\">\n        <span class=\"u-hide-visually\">Image:<\/span><br \/>\n        <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\">Pele in 1960. Pic: AP<br \/>\n        <\/span><br \/>\n      <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>After a record-breaking career, Pele was regarded as one of the greatest sportsmen of the 20th century.<\/p>\n<p>At the age of 15, his coach told club directors in his native Sao Paolo he would become the &#8220;greatest football player in the world&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>A year later he was the top scorer in Brazil&#8217;s national league, leading to a call-up from the national team.<\/p>\n<p>At 17 in 1958, he inspired his country&#8217;s World Cup win with a hat-trick in the semi-final and two goals in the final.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately he scored 1,279 goals across 1,363 games, which is still a Guinness World Record.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Emma Raducanu <\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image\">\n<figure class=\"sdc-article-image__figure\">\n<div class=\"sdc-article-image__wrapper\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"ui-media-caption\">\n        <span class=\"u-hide-visually\">Image:<\/span><br \/>\n        <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\">Emma Raducanu at the US Open in New York, September 2021. Pic: AP<br \/>\n        <\/span><br \/>\n      <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Emma Raducanu, from Bromley, in south London, first made her name as a wildcard entry at Wimbledon in June 2021.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>She impressed with her defeat over Sorana Cirstea &#8211; but had to retire in the fourth round against Ajla Tomljanovic due to breathing problems.<\/p>\n<p>Then ranked 150th in the world, she won her way into the main draw of the US Open that autumn.<\/p>\n<p>She became the first British woman to reach the final since Virginia Wade in 1968 &#8211; and didn&#8217;t drop a single set on her way to winning the tournament outright.<\/p>\n<p>This saw her jump 332 places in the world rankings from her position at the start of the year to Number 23.<\/p>\n<p>She won BBC Sports Personality of the Year that December and has since secured lucrative sponsorship deals from Nike, Dior, British Airways and Tiffany &amp; Co.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ronnie O Sullivan<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image\">\n<figure class=\"sdc-article-image__figure\">\n<div class=\"sdc-article-image__wrapper\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"ui-media-caption\">\n        <span class=\"u-hide-visually\">Image:<\/span><br \/>\n        <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\">Ronnie O Sullivan became Hedges Masters champion at 19 in 1995<br \/>\n        <\/span><br \/>\n      <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Nicknamed &#8216;The Rocket&#8217;, Ronnie O&#8217;Sullivan turned professional at the age of 16 in 1992, having won a match in just 43 minutes during his debut season.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Two years ago he bookended his career by becoming the oldest winner of the same championship he broke the record for at 16.<\/p>\n<p>Characterised by his attacking style and emotional outbursts, O&#8217;Sullivan is regarded as one of the greatest snooker players of all time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sachin Tendulkar<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image\">\n<figure class=\"sdc-article-image__figure\">\n<div class=\"sdc-article-image__wrapper\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"ui-media-caption\">\n        <span class=\"u-hide-visually\">Image:<\/span><br \/>\n        <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\">Tendulkar at The Oval in 1992 aged 19<br \/>\n        <\/span><br \/>\n      <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Sachin Tendulkar was encouraged to take up cricket at 11 as a means of getting out of trouble at school.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>He remains the leading run scorer in Test and ODI cricket.<\/p>\n<p>He worked as a ball boy during the 1987 Cricket World Cup in the semi-final between England and Bombay.<\/p>\n<p>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 &#8211; let alone England.<\/p>\n<p>He ascended to the captaincy of the Indian national team and had major success domestically for Mumbai.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0635\u062f\u0631\" href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/luke-littler-nine-other-teen-sport-sensations-13041370\">\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0635\u062f\u0631<\/a><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lenkaed.com\" title=\"\u0623\u062e\u0628\u0627\u0631\" rel=\"dofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">\u0623\u062e\u0628\u0627\u0631<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Luke Littler: Nine other teen sport sensations | UK News\" href=\"\/\">Luke Littler: Nine other teen sport sensations | UK News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Luke Littler: Nine other teen sport sensations | UK News Luke Littler: Nine other teen sport sensations | UK News A 16-year-old from Warrington fell agonisingly short of becoming the youngest ever world darts champion after capturing the nation&#8217;s attention. Luke Littler was on the brink of history at Alexandra Palace on Wednesday night but [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7712],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88684\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}