Sports legend or “bad toy”?

andWith the golden boy’s debut, Italian football has experienced a historic moment. Only 15 years old, Francisco Canalda He became the youngest player to make his Serie A debut in Milan’s win over Fiorentina.Spain, for its part, experienced a similar impact a few months ago Ramin Yamal At just 15 years old, he went down in history as the youngest goalscorer in La Liga.

Making your debut at fifteen is usually an exception. Little geniuses who are ahead of their peers can compete “one-on-one” with their elders. Many end up becoming legends, but some end up paying a high price for this premature success.

Martina Hingis

The emergence of this Swiss tennis player caused an earthquake in the world of tennis. Her immense confidence and quality influenced the WTA in a way that is rarely remembered. At just 15 years old (1996) she became the youngest woman to win a (double) championship.. Just two years later, she won her first Grand Slam singles title (Australian Open) and became one of the best players in tennis history. The world’s No. 1 and seven “greats” completed the “course” of the Swiss team.

A previously unknown side of Martina’s precocity was revealed in the 1999 French Open final against Steffi Graf. The German veteran’s comeback against the favorite ultimately unnerved the young Swiss woman, shocking the world with a temper tantrum from which she would never recover. More importantly, he would never win a personal “grand slam” again.

Coco Gough

The young American tennis player made headlines in 2019 when she won the Linz tournament at just 15 years old. Her astonishing performance has made her the favorite to succeed Serena Williams on the tennis throne, which she is about to take the first step to taking four years later.. In September last year, he won his first major championship in New York and became the world’s number one at the age of 19 (currently ranked third).

Nadia Comaneci

At just 15 years old, she became the queen of the Montreal Olympics. During the game in Canada, he scored his famous 10 points after a now-legendary asymmetrical drill. He finished the competition with three gold and three silver medals as a team.

Her career was one of the most successful in gymnastics, with a total of nine Olympic medals and two world championships.

merut route

He is known around the world for his work Won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics at just 15 years old. The Lithuanian girl impressed the world when she beat all the favorites in the 100m breaststroke final. A year later, he also won world gold medals in the 50m and 100m breaststroke with two world records.

However, the Lithuanian’s early success ultimately led to her premature retirement. At the age of 22, after trying with little success to once again dominate the swimming world, he decided to “hang up” his swimsuits.

Lexi Thompson

Another American sports prodigy. By the age of 15, she was already a professional player, and a few months later she became the youngest player to win an LPGA Tour event (the Kraft Nabisco Championship).

As time goes byexy has climbed to the highest levels of golf, winning 14 times on the track and achieving the title of “Grand Slam” (Chevron 2014)

. Additionally, she is one of the few golfers capable of competing on the PGA Tour.

Katie Ledecky

He participated in the London Olympics when he was only 15 years old in order to gain some experience. However, the result was completely different. He eventually won the Olympic gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle.

Today, more than a decade later, she can proudly set the best record in women’s swimming history.It exceeded all expectations and A record of ten Olympic medals and 21 world championships.

tom daly

The famous springboard athlete soared into the sky on the 10-meter platform at the 2009 Swimming World Cup in Rome when he was only 15 years old.. He experienced a subtle mental health moment that affected his performance, but he was able to overcome it and become an icon across the UK.

After returning to elite competition, the Briton won a total of 4 Olympic medals and became world and European champion. Now he is one of the most influential athletes in England.

Michael Phelps

The most successful Olympian of all time’s relationship began at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. At just 15 years old, the athlete from Baltimore made it to the finals of the 200m butterfly, finishing fifth. It would be the first stone in a legendary and possibly unparalleled record. Phelps retired in 2016 with a total of 23 gold medals!

However, the swimmer’s career was marked by intense depression, and Phelps himself was aware of it and tried to help people suffering from the disease. “After the 2012 Olympics, I experienced my worst fall and I didn’t want anything to do with sports anymore… I didn’t want to live anymore.”

Marc Marquez

Made his Moto3 World Championship debut at just 15 years old (currently the minimum age is 18) His first season on the international circuit will go down in history for finishing third in the British Grand Prix, making him the second youngest driver to achieve this.

Fifteen years later, Mark is on the verge of becoming the greatest player of all time. Only injuries interrupted his dazzling attack on eternity. At 30 years old he still has plenty of tracks to race on and he can boast six MotoGP World Championship titles, one in Moto2 and one in Moto3.

Freddy Adu

Been a “football” phenomenon since school. Adu broke all precociousness records when he made his professional soccer debut in North America at just 15 years old (14 years and 320 days).. His jump to Europe and elite football did not go as planned.

After a failed attempt by Manchester United, Benfica picked him up and he played his first minute in the Champions League. Portugal’s bet didn’t work out, nor did any of the following destinations (France, Greece, Turkey…). Freddy gradually succumbed, without pain or glory, until at the age of 24 he lost the team.