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Champions are made but Prodigies are born. Not many people have an idea what to do with their lives when they are in school but the people in this list are the ones who defied the odds, who broke barriers and the ones who changed the way we see sports altogether.
Marjorie Gestring
Major Success at Age : 13, Sports : Diving
What were we doing when we were 13? Learning to use a computer perhaps? But Marjorie Gestring already had an Olympics Gold medal when she was 13. In the 1936 Summer Olympics, this little girl broke the barriers and won gold in the 3m springboard event. She could have won more but the games were cancelled due to the World War II in 1940 and 1944.
Her record for being the Youngest Olympic Gold Medalist will remain intact for centuries because the minimum age of Olympic participants now is 14.
Major Success at Age : 16, Sports: Cricket
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With only one First-Class year under his belt, the young Sachin Tendulkar, aged 16 was picked up by the Indian National team for the tour of Pakistan.
There, he faced off against one of the most lethal bowling line-up that even the greats feared. During a Test match, a bouncer tested him and broke his nose. He was bleeding but rejected medical assistance. The whole stadium was fearing for the safety of the schoolboy from Mumbai. When he walked back to the dressing room, the whole pavilion was on its feet applauding him. A few weeks later, the same school boy tore apart the great Abdul Quadir for 27 runs in a single over.
The success that followed him after that tour was inevitable. Sachin Tendulkar remains on top of all the best products that India has produced over all these years.
Major Success at Age : 15, Sports : Basketball
With an average close to 27 points, 7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 3 steals per game in his high school career, the Mr.Basketball of Ohio, LeBron James had already been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated and ESPN Magazine.
He entered the 2003 NBA draft with great expectations and was the first overall pick of the draft. In his very first season at Cleveland Cavaliers, he was named as Rookie of the Year, the youngest recipient of the award.
With five appearances in the NBA All-Star team, 2 MVP awards, 2 All-Star MVP award and various other accolades, LeBron James is the classical American Basketball wonderkid.
Pele
Major Success at Age : 15, Sports : Football
One of the most talented scouts in Brazil, de Brito, took a young boy to the great club of Santos and said that “he will be the greatest footballer ever” and he was spot on.
By the age of 16, Pele was already the top scorer of the Brazilian League. In order to prevent the Europeans from poaching him, Pele was declared as a “national treasure”.
By the age of 17, he already had a World Cup title scoring twice in the finals. He is the only player to have won three World Cup titles. Named as the Athlete of the Century and the Footballer of the Century by various organizations, Pele is truly the greatest player to have played the game of Football.
Martina Hingis
Major Success at Age : 12, Sports: Tennis
- Youngest player to win a Junior Grand Slam title at age 12
- Youngest player to win a senior Grand Slam match at age 14
- Youngest player to win a Grand Slam title (doubles) at age 15
- Youngest player to win a senior, singles Grand Slam title at age 16
- Youngest player to be ranked no.1 in Tennis at age 16.
The stats speak for themselves don’t they? Hingis began playing tennis at the age of 2 and entered her first tournament aged 4. If not for a career threatening ligament injury to both her ankles at the age of 22, Hingis would have went on to rewrite every single record in the history book. Still, with 14 Grand Slam titles she is a great example for a Child Prodigy.
Major Success at Age : 9, Sports : Golf
Tiger Woods was meant for greater things. When he was 2, he was involved in a putting contest with Bob Hope in a TV show. When he was 4, he completed the Navy Golf Course in California and when he was 5, he was already featured on the Golf Digest.
He entered the Junior World Golf Championships aged 9 and won the tournament convincingly. He won the U.S Amateur Championships aged 15 and when he turned pro in 1996, top companies including Nike signed him up for jaw-breaking deals. In that very year, he was named as the Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated. He won his first major aged 20 and was the fastest to become the World. No 1 in Golf.
In 2000, Tiger Woods broke 9 course records en route to a U.S Open title in what is described as the “greatest performance in Golf History”. He famously won the 2008 U.S Open literally playing with one damaged knee.
Despite the infidelity charges and the fiasco, Tiger Woods is the greatest Child prodigy that the world has ever seen.
Honorable Mentions : Bobby Fischer (Chess), Wayne Gretzky (Ice Hockey) and Ryan Sheckler (Skating).
