Carlos Alcaraz and other prodigies of precocity: from Hingis to Nadal, from Comaneci to Phelps

Carlos Alcaraz

is already, at 19 years old, the youngest number one in the history of the ATP.

That makes him a unique being who does not share his laurels with anyone and reminds us that tennis is one of those sports open to the voracious appetite for triumphs of adolescents.

Especially in the case of women, who develop physically before men.

Martina Hingis

,

and

won their first

tournaments at the age of 16.

, 17. The same age as

,

,

and

.

For her part, Rafa Nadal premiered her record in the category by scoring 18 at

in 2005.

The age of 17 is an appropriate age for the emergence, at the highest competitive level from then on, of exceptional footballers:

at Ajax;

at Barcelona;

and

at Real Madrid... Right now, in the fourth quarter,

and

at Barça.

was also 17 years old

when he was world champion.

In that he wins everyone.

was 15 (he was 10 days away from turning 16) when he made his professional debut with Argentinos Juniors.

gender distinctive

There are sports, individual or collective, and within them specialties, more prone than others to precocity.

It doesn't seem possible to win the

or be world heavyweight champion at 17 or 18 years old.

On the other hand, swimming and gymnastics, to cite a couple of very representative examples, lend themselves to success at very early ages, even children.

And, again, more open to women.

Two sample buttons: one from 50 years ago, since we are remembering these days for various reasons, some of them mournful, the

Munich

And another current.

In 1972, Australian

, a young girl who held all the freestyle records, won three gold, one silver and one bronze medal in Munich at the age of 15.

The same age

was when she won gold in the 800 free at the 2012 London Games.

Men are generally not so precocious.

But, even so,

, who did not win a medal at the 2000 Sydney Games at the age of 15 years and four months, broke the

record at 15 and 9 , thus becoming the youngest record holder in history, ahead of

(16 years and 10 months), who had already been

in Perth 98 at the age of 15 years and three months.

In our days, last August, Romanian

record with 17

.

Speed ​​tests are more favorable to the physiological characteristics of youth

young champions

Let's go with gymnastics, in which the enhanced elasticity of a girl works wonders.

was Olympic champion in Montreal 76 at the age of 14.

And

world champion in Antwerp 2013 with 16. And if you put a kid with full physical faculties and the right dose of youthful recklessness on a competition motorcycle, not so much on a car, you can meet some world champions of 18 years old:

,

...

Basketball is also a traditionally receptive sport, already at high competitive levels, for kids.

Among boys under 20 years of age, the bases have abounded.

was signed by Real Madrid when he was 15 years old and still in school.

He made his debut with the National Team before doing so, at 17, with the first white team.

was 14 years, 11 months and 24 days old when he debuted with the green and black colors of Joventut de Badalona.

In the United States, citing the number one draft of

, chosen at age 18 by the Cleveland Cavaliers, is enough.

In athletics it is not entirely unusual to achieve great success in junior age.

But it is exceptional, and more so because it is a white athlete, the case of the Norwegian phenomenon

, absolute champion of Europe in 2018 of 1,500 and 5,000 meters when he had not yet turned 18, preceding his next titles in the Games of Tokyo in 2021 and, this year, the

and the

.

They were 19 years old

(USA) and

(Great Britain), gold and silver, respectively in the 800 meters at the Tokyo Games.

The same age as this flamboyant Carlos, Carlitos, Charly Alcaraz.

A Murcian bonfire that could be said to have arisen from the Mediterranean embers of Rafael,

.

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