Japanese skateboarder Nishiya Momiji on July 26 won the gold for her country in the women's street event, as the sport made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020. She's just 13 years old, a the cusp of her teenage years.
From Nishiya to 12-year-old Syrian table tennis player Hend Zaza, who at age 12 is the youngest athlete at the Olympic Games this year, here's a look at some of the other young trailblazers at Tokyo 2020.
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Sky Brown, 13
Sky Brown is representing Team Great Britain (GB) at Skateboarding and the young olympian just turned 13 this month. She is the youngest Team GB Summer Olympian of all time and already has many accolades to her credit.
Brown has a shot to land on the podium in the women's park discipline in skateboarding, which takes place on August 4. She is joined by other skateboarding youngsters including Nishiya, Hiraki Kokona of Japan (12) and Brazil's Rayssa Leal (13), who came second to Nishiya in the street skateboarding event on July 26.
Brown's competition in the park discipline is yet another teenager of 15, Okamoto Misugu of Japan, who is the 2019 world champion in park.
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Hend Zaza, 12
At 12, Hend Zaza is the youngest table tennis player at the Olympics ever and the youngest Olympian in any sport since 1992. Representing Syria in Table Tennis, Zaza lost her opening match on July 24.
Quan Hongchan, 14
Another teenager competing in the Olympics this year is 14-year-old Quan Hongchan. Hailing from China, she's competing in the women's 10 m platform diving on August 4. Joining her in that event is 15-year-old teammate Chen Yuxi, who is also competing in the 10m springboard event.
Katie Grimes, 15
At 15, Grimes is the youngest member of Team USA and she will be competing in the 800 m freestyle swimming event- the same event that her now-teammate Katie Ledecky qualified for London 2012 at age 15 as well.
Grimes is the youngest U.S. Olympic swimmer since Amanda Beard who made the Atlanta 1996 team at age 14.
“It really is full circle,” Ledecky said when the duo qualified at U.S. swim trials last month.
Team USA has other young sportspersons as well like 16-year-old Clair Curzan and 17-year-old Lydia Jacoby, in swimming and 17-year-old Colin Duffy in the new event of sport climbing.
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Erriyon Knighton, 17
Erriyon Knighton at 17 is yet another young American to watch out for as he represents Team USA in the 200m race. Knighton is the youngest American man to make the U.S. athletics team for an Olympics since Jim Ryun in 1964.
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