Antonelli: One of the heroes who made history at a young age
Kimi Antonelli becomes the youngest Formula One world champion, joining an elite list of athletes like Pelé, Graf, Shevchenko, and Tendulkar who achieved early milestones.
Translated by Qiyas from الأنباء — Original source
Italian driver Kimi Antonelli has become the youngest Formula One world champion in history, claiming the title at the age of 20 years and 68 days. Antonelli joins an elite group of athletes who established their dominance in their respective sports at a very young age. Here are four prominent examples:
Pelé... The King of Football at Seventeen
Brazilian Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pelé, was only 17 years old when he earned the title of "King" thanks to his remarkable performance in Brazil’s 1958 World Cup victory. He scored six goals in four matches, including a hat-trick in the semi-final against France and two goals in the final against Sweden, despite arriving at the tournament with a knee injury. Swedish defender Sigge Parling said after the final, "When Pelé scored the fifth goal, I admit I felt the urge to applaud him." Pelé’s brilliance did not stop there; he won the World Cup two more times in 1962 and 1970, and was one of the standout stars of the Brazilian national team, considered one of the greatest in the history of the sport.
Steffi Graf... The Immortal "Golden Grand Slam"
German Steffi Graf is the last player to win all four Grand Slam titles in a single year, achieving this historic feat in 1988 at the age of 19. She had already announced herself as a global star the previous year by defeating American Martina Navratilova in the Roland Garros final. In her exceptional 1988 season, she won the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open, before adding the Olympic gold medal in Seoul. To this day, Graf remains the only player, male or female, to achieve the "Golden Grand Slam" (winning all four major titles and the Olympic gold medal in the same year). She retired in 1999, leaving behind 22 Grand Slam singles titles.
Mikaela Shiffrin... The Unattainable Peak
American Mikaela Shiffrin began competing in Alpine Ski World Cup events in 2011 at the age of 15. By 2013, she had become the World Champion in slalom, before achieving an even greater feat at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, where she won the slalom gold medal just one month before her 19th birthday, becoming the youngest Olympic champion in the discipline. Since then, she has continued to break records, winning three Olympic gold medals, eight world titles, and six overall World Cup titles. At 31 years old, Shiffrin still competes in pursuit of adding to her record total of 110 World Cup victories.
Sachin Tendulkar... The Indian Cricketing Prodigy
Indian Sachin Tendulkar played his first Test match at the age of 15, but established himself globally just two years later when he scored his first "century" (scoring 100 or more runs in a single innings) out of 100 international centuries in his career. In 1993, the year he turned 20, he scored 640 runs in nine Test matches, including five scores over 50 and two over 100. His average that year was 91.42, and by November 1994, on the occasion of his 21st birthday, he became the world’s top-ranked batsman. He retired in 2013 at the age of 40, having cemented his status as one of the greatest cricketers in history and the highest run-scorer in international matches.
