Youngest Olympic Competitors per Sport (2020 Update)
Here are the youngest ever competitors at the Summer Olympic Games, listed for each sport. This list is from all Olympic years, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
The youngest documented Olympian is 10-year-old Greek gymnast Dimitrios Loundras, but there may have been a younger competitor, the young boy of unknown age from Paris who was the substitute coxswain in the winning Dutch pair oars boat in the 1900 rowing event. The youngest female athlete is also a gymnast, Luigina Giavotti. The Italian gymnast competed in 1928 aged 11 years 301 days.
12-year-old Syrian table tennis player Hend Zaza became the youngest Olympian in more than 50 years after qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Games. Skateboarding competitors also provided some very young talent, the youmnghest Kokona Hiraki was also 12 years old when she competed.
See the discussion of the oldest Olympic competitors per sport, and the overall oldest and youngest medal winners, and much more Olympic Trivia.
Youngest MALE competitors for each sport
| Sport | Age * | Name | Country | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archery | 15 years, 123 days | Henry Richardson | USA | 1904 |
| Badminton | 18 years 208 days | Boonsak Ponsana | Thailand | 2000 |
| Baseball | 16 years, 85 days | Félix Tejada | Dominican Republic | 1992 |
| Basketball | 15 years 212 days | Václav Krása | Czechoslovakia | 1948 |
| Beach Volleyball | 20 years 158 days | Martin Lébl | Czechia | 2000 |
| Boxing | 15 years, 186 days | Huub Baarsgarst | Netherlands | 1924 |
| Canoe / Kayak | 16 years 17 days | Marlon Grings | Brazil | 1992 |
| Climbing | 17 years 236 days | Colin Duffy | USA | 2021 |
| Cycling | 14 years, 276 days | Tacettin Öztürkmen | Türkiye | 1928 |
| Diving | 13 years 186 days | Niki Stajkovic | Austria | 1972 |
| Equestrian | 18 years 73 days | Min Gwan-Gi | South Korea | 1960 |
| Fencing | 15 years 313 days | Khaled Al-Awadhi | Kuwait | 1980 |
| Field hockey | 15 years 274 days | Mukhtar Bhatti | Pakistan | 1948 |
| Football | 15 years, 111 days | Abdel-Karim Sakr | Egypt | 1936 |
| Golf | 15 years, 323 days | Albert E. Austin | Canada | 1904 |
| Gymnastics - Artistic | 10 years, 216 days | Dimitrios Loundras | Greece | 1896 |
| Handball | 14 years, 336 days | Kamel Maoudj | Algeria | 1984 |
| Judo | 16 years 59 days | Juan Chalas | Dominican Republic | 1972 |
| Karate | 20 years 164 days | Nurkanat Azhikanov | Kazakhstan |
2021 |
| Modern Pentathlon | 16 years 42 days | Sven Coomer | Australia | 1956 |
| Rowing | 11 years 251 days | Carlos Front | Spain | 1992 |
| Rugby | 16 years 125 days | Eugen Sfetescu | Romania | 1925 |
| Sailing | 13 years 56 days | William Horton, Jr. | USA | 1952 |
| Shooting | 15 years 252 days | Olivér Gáspár | Hungary | 1988 |
| Skateboarding | 17 years 92 days | Alessandro Mazzara | Italy | 2021 |
| Surfing | 21 years 181 days | Rio Waida | Indonesia | 2021 |
| Swimming | 13 years 7 days | Jorge Lima | Angola | 1980 |
| Table Tennis | 15 years 211 days | Marcelo Aguirre | Paraguay | 2008 |
| Taekwondo | 16 years 267 days | Akram Al-Noor | Yemen | 2004 |
| Tennis | 16 years 174 days | Mario Ančić | Croatia | 2000 |
| Track and Field | 15 years 119 days | Alphonse Yanghat | Congo | 1972 |
| Trampoline | 18 years 285 days | Pirmammad Aliyev | Kazakhstan | 2016 |
| Triathlon | 18 years 311 days | Wang Daqing | China | 2008 |
| Volleyball (indoor) | 17 years 3 days | Gang Man-Su | South Korea | 1972 |
| Water Polo | 11 years 223 days | Antoine Fiolet | France | 1900 |
| Weightlifting | 15 years 189 days | Khodor Al-Aywan | Lebanon | 1988 |
| Wrestling | 15 years 330 days | Mahabir Singh | India | 1980 |
Youngest FEMALE competitors for each sport
| Sport | Age * | Name | Country | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archery | 14 years, 290 days | Denise Parker | USA | 1988 |
| Badminton | 16 years, 337 days | Mia Audina | Indonesia | 1996 |
| Basketball | 16 years, 253 days | Andrea Borrell | Cuba | 1980 |
| Beach Volleyball | 18 years 116 days | Nada Meawad | Egypt | 2016 |
| Boxing | 17 years 137 days | Claressa Shields | USA | 2012 |
| Canoe / Kayak | 15 years, 218 days | Francine Fox | USA | 1964 |
| Climbing | 17 years 276 days | Seo Chae-Hyun | South Korea | 2021 |
| Cycling | 17 years 92 days | Hege Stendahl | Norway | 1984 |
| Diving | 13 years, 23 days | Dorothy Poynton-Hill | USA | 1928 |
| Equestrian | 16 years, 341 days | Luiza Almeida | Brazil | 2008 |
| Fencing | 14 years, 288 days | Lea Moutoussamy | Algeria | 2012 |
| Field hockey | 15 years, 363 days | Sabine Blemenschütz | Austria | 1980 |
| Football | 16 years 97 days | Ellie Carpenter | Australia | 2016 |
| Golf | 17 years 214 days | Pia Babnik | Slovenia | 2021 |
| Gymnastics - Artistic | 11 years 301 days | Luigina Giavotti | Italy | 1928 |
| Gymnastics - Rhythmic | 13 years, 221 days | Céline Degrange | France | 1992 |
| Handball | 15 years 273 days | Barbara Diribe | Nigeria | 1992 |
| Judo | 14 years, 175 days | Ludmila Cristea | Moldova | 2000 |
| Karate | 20 years 274 days | Sofya Berultseva | Kazakhstan | 2021 |
| Modern Pentathlon | 15 years, 281 days | Aya Medany | Egypt | 2004 |
| Rowing | 14 years 232 days | Kirsten Plum Jensen | Denmark | 1976 |
| Rugby | 18 years 146 days | Jiowana Sauto | Fiji | 2016 |
| Sailing | 16 years 137 days | Eya & Sarra Guezguez | Tunisia | 2021 |
| Shooting | 15 years 276 days | Anna Dulce | Moldova | 2021 |
| Skateboarding | 12 years 243 days | Kokona Hiraki | Japan | 2021 |
| Softball | 17 years 123 days | Britt Vonk | The Netherlands | 2008 |
| Surfing | 19 years 161 days | Caroline Marks | USA | 2021 |
| Swimming | 11 years 306 days | Arati Saha | India | 1952 |
| Synchronized Swimming | 15 years 115 days | Sahar Helal | Egypt | 1984 |
| Table Tennis | 12 years 204 days | Hend Zaza | Syria | 2021 |
| Taekwondo | 16 years 131 days | Nadin Dawani | Jordan | 2004 |
| Tennis | 14 years 136 days | Natacha Randriantefy | Madagascar | 1992 |
| Track and Field | 13 years, 4 days | Céléstine N'Drin | Ivory Coast | 1976 |
| Trampoline | 18 years 92 days | Nicole Ahsinger | USA | 2016 |
| Triathlon | 18 years 128 days | Hollie Avil | Great Britain | 2008 |
| Volleyball (indoor) | 15 years 298 days | Vera Leme | Brazil | 1980 |
| Water Polo | 16 years 104 days | Paula Leitón | Spain | 2016 |
| Weightlifting | 15 years 358 days | Fatima Hirech | Algeria | 2016 |
| Wrestling | 18 years 231 days | Rosalie Bénié Tano | Côte d'Ivoire | 2012 |
* For determining the youngest athlete, the age is based on the day their event started (which may not always have been the day that the athlete competed)
source: the data was originally sourced from the sport-reference.com website, but further data added from their new site www.olympedia.org, plus the data has been added to over time as new Olympics are held.
Related Pages
- Oldest olympic competitors per sport
- The discussion of the oldest and youngest medal winners
- The oldest living Olympians
- Related Olympians
- More Olympic Trivia
- Oldest and Youngest at the Winter Olympics
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
Current Events