Photos

  • Rafael Nadal of Spain on April 15, 2003, when he was 17 years old. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
  • Yao Ming of China on 7th July 1998, when he was 18 years old. (Photo by Vincent Laforet/Getty Images)
  • Michael Phelps when he was 15 years old. Mandatory Credit: Donald Miralle /Allsport
  • 16 Jan 1998: Teenage tennis sisters from America, Venus (left) and Serena Williams take time off a practise session to pose together. Mandatory Credit: Clive Brunskill/Allsport
  • Emily Seebohm of Australia on March 23, 2007 when she was 15 years old. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
  • Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia on July 13, 2003 when she was 21 years old. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images).
  • Roger Federer of Switzerland on 25 May 1999 when he was 18 years old. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
  • Nastia Liukin of the United States on February 26, 2005 when she was 16 years old. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
  • Julius Yego of Kenya on August 17, 2013 when he was 24 years old. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
  • Candace Parker on April 1, 2007 when she was 21 years old. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
  • Victoria Pendleton a member of the Great Britain Cycling team on July 2, 2004 when she was 24 years old. (Photo by John Gichigi/Getty Images)
  • Jessica Ennis of Great Britain on July 13, 2003 when she was 17 years old. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
  • Neymar of Brazil on March 27, 2011 when he was 19 years old. (Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)
  • Allyson Felix on June 21, 2003 when she was 18 years old. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
  • Great Britain's Tom Daley on February 24, 2008 when he was 15 years old. (Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)
  • Ai FUKUHARA of Japan when she was 15 years old. (Photo by Henri Szwarc/Bongarts/Getty Images)
  • Carolina Kluft of Sweden on July 18, 2002 when she was 19 years old. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Before they were stars

International Youth Day 2020

Over the past months, Tokyo 2020 has shared the stories of leading athletes before they were stars. Today, 12 August, is International Youth Day. So what better way to celebrate the occasion that to look back at the stars before they were shining at their brightest?