Top sport performances by 16-year-olds throughout history - Simone Biles, Martina Hingis, Summer McIntosh, and more
British 16-year-old Luke Littler whipped up a storm with his record-breaking journey to the PDC World Darts Championship final in January. Discover more teenage sensations who have set sport alight with their stunning performances.
Sixteen-year-old British darts wunderkind Luke Littler captured the world’s imagination with his extraordinary run to the PDC World Darts Championship final in January 2024.
The unseeded teenager from Warrington initially picked up traction after becoming the youngest player to win any match at the world championships in the opening round. He then went six wins in a row to make the title decider before falling 7-4 to eventual champion Luke Humphries.
Littler’s transformation from an unknown entity into a superstar was a dazzling triumph, but the darts star isn’t the only teen to have impressed over the years.
From artistic gymnastics legend Simone Biles to up-and-coming swimming talent Summer McIntosh, Olympics.com took a look at the prodigies who shot into the spotlight at just 16 years old.
Simone Biles - Artistic gymnastics
Today, few would dispute Simone Biles’ legendary status in artistic gymnastics.
A four-time Olympic champion, 23-time world champion and with five moves named after her in the international rule book, Biles is truly one-of-a-kind.
Her rise to the top first started when she competed at the 2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp. Aged 16 at the time, Biles left Belgium with two gold medals, in all-around and floor, a silver in vault and the impetus to later become the most-decorated USA gymnast of all time.
Martina Hingis won the Australian Open Tennis Championship in 1997.
Martina Hingis - Tennis
In a sport well-known for its plucky teen prodigies, there remains a special place for Switzerland’s tennis whizz Martina Hingis who became a household name at 16 years and 117 days when she won the women's singles tournament at the 1997 Australian Open.
This victory made Hingis the youngest-ever Grand Slam singles winner. Later that same year, she became the youngest Wimbledon champion and went on to win the US Open to hold three of the four Grand Slam titles in one year.
Great Britain's Mia Brookes won gold at the FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships in 2023.
Mia Brookes - Snowboard
Team GB’s Mia Brookes rewrote history when she became the youngest-ever snowboard world champion by winning the women’s slopestyle title in February 2023.
Brookes achieved the feat in style a month after turning 16, landing the first-ever Cab 1440 double flip in a women’s FIS competition to clinch the gold.
Summer McIntosh collected two gold medals at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships.
Summer McIntosh - Swimming
One teen phenom sure to set pulses racing at Paris 2024 is Canada’s Summer McIntosh whose swimming stocks rose to an impressive level in her 16th year.
At the Canadian World Trials in March 2023, McIntosh set two senior world records, in the women’s 400m freestyle and 400 individual medley, and also added world junior and Canadian records in the 200m freestyle, 200m butterfly and 200m IM.
Then, just a couple of weeks before her 17th birthday, McIntosh successfully defended her world titles in the 200 fly and 400 IM at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, to become a four-time world champion.
Johannes Aigner and guide Matteo Fleischmann won a medal in each of their five events at Beijing 2022.
Johannes and Barbara Aigner - Para alpine
Para alpine skiing twins Johannes and Barbara Aigner put on an unforgettable display at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Games, then just 16 years old.
Already world champions in the vision impaired slalom and giant slalom, respectively, the Austrian teenagers went on to win seven Paralympic medals between them in the People’s Republic of China, including two golds for Johannes in downhill and giant slalom.
With this medal haul, the twins further strengthened their Para alpine dynasty, which also includes older sister Veronika Aigner who claimed two Paralympic golds of her own in Beijing with sister Elisabeth Aigner as her guide.
Basketball phenom Khaman Maluach of South Sudan in action against the Australian Boomers.
Khaman Maluach - Basketball
South Sudan’s Khaman Maluach announced himself to the world like a hidden gem at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Standing at 7-foot-2, the spotlight fell on Maluach as he became the youngest player at the basketball showpiece event and the third youngest-ever to compete in the tournament.
Aside from taking on that honour, Maluach was also part of the South Sudanese team that obtained a quota for Paris 2024 as the highest-finishing African team, marking the nation’s first-ever Olympic berth for a team sport.
