Young Phenoms: 15 Adolescent Record Setters
A young boy from Guangzhou, China, became one of the most significant adolescent record setters as soon as he stepped up to the tee at Augusta National Golf Club. At just 14 years of age, Guan Tianlang became the youngest player in the history of the Masters’ tournament, and the youngest to participate in any golf major in 148 years.
With a sweet swing and a calm demeanor, Tianglang put together a stellar round and finished with a one over 73, even though some of his opponents’ probably had lucky boxers that are older than he is.
Tianlang is only one of several adolescent record setters.
See 15 other remarkable young people and what records they set.
15.) Nadia Comaneci (Gymnast)
SI Kids
Nadia was the first female to score a perfect 10 in gymnastics.
At the age of 14, she went on to win three gold medals at the 1976 Olympics.
14.) Pele (Youngest Player to score in a World Cup Final)
The 18
One of the greatest football players ever, Pele became the youngest player to score in a world cup final at the age of 17 in 1958.
Pele was so good that everyone wanted to watch him. In 1967, during the Nigeria civil war, the rebel troops and the Nigeria army brokered a cease-fire for a few days to watch him play. He is one of the top adolescent record setters in the world of football.
13.) Kishan Shrinkath (Youngest Director)
YouTube
He holds the record as the youngest professional director.
Directing a 130-minute long film at the age of 9, he holds a Guinness book of record for the film Care of Footpath.
12.) Fu Mingxia
Olympic Channel
The Chinese native is the youngest swimming athlete to ever win a world championship at the age of 12.
She also went on to win numerous gold medals.
11.) Arfa Karim Randhawa (Youngest Microsoft Professional)
BBC
In 2004 at the age of 9, she became the youngest Microsoft certified professional.
She passed away in 2012 due to a heart failure caused by an epileptic fit.
10.) Farnum Thayer Fish (Youngest Pilot)
Tuck Museum
The son of a wealthy physician, he started taking flying lessons at the age of 14 from the Orville Wright. By the age of 15, Fish received his license and became the youngest pilot ever.
He was popularly known as the “Baby Aviator.”
9.) Sean Stewart (Youngest Father in the World)
24H Viral Photos
This boy was probably one of the most shocking adolescent record setters.
At age 12, Sean Stewart became the youngest father in the world after impregnating his 16-year-old girl neighbor in Britain in 1998.
8.) Youngest Couples
YouTube
This is probably one of the weirdest adolescent record setters.
In a village in Egypt in 2016, a 12-year old boy and his 10-year-old bride got married. This practice of marrying young is reported to be common in the region, but this marriage takes the cake. They were the youngest people married in the history of the Village.
7.) Lina Medina (Youngest Mother)
All That’s Interesting
At the age of five years, seven months, and 21 days, Lisa gave birth to a baby boy. Doctors said she developed ovaries at eight months of age.
The child lived and was healthy.
6.) Mahmoud Waheal (Youngest Programming Lecturer)
almrsal.com
At the age of 14, he was qualified to teach university students C++ as a lecturer.
To meet this requirement, he had to take Cisco Certified Network Associate, Cisco Certified Network Professional, and Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert courses.
5.) Rifca Stanescu (Youngest Grandmother)
Daily Mail
Not sure this one is as remarkable as it is troubling, but in 2009, a gypsy wife became the world’s youngest grandmother at the seemingly impossible age of 23. Rifca Stanescu, a native of the village of Investi, Romania, gave birth to her first child, Maria, when she was just 12 years old.
Then, following in her mother’s fertile footsteps, Maria gave birth to a son, Ion, when she was just 11. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any weirder, Ion was engaged to an 8-year-old by the time he was two.
4.) Balamurali Ambati (Youngest Doctor)
YouTube
Turns out Doogie Howser, M.D. wasn’t such a heinous premise for a show after all. After graduating from New York University at the age of thirteen, Balamurali Ambati moved on to Mount Sinai School of Medicine, a program from which he graduated in 1995 and became the world’s youngest doctor at just 17 years old.
Then, as if he hadn’t already accomplished enough, he completed his ophthalmology residency at Harvard. He currently serves as the director of corneal research at the University of Utah School of Medicine.
3.) Quvenzhané Wallis (Youngest Oscar Nominee)
YouTube
Nine-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis made Academy Award history when she became the youngest ever nominee for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Earning the nomination for her role in Beasts of the Southern Wild, Quvenzhané was five-years-0ld when she first auditioned for the film.
Had she taken the award home, she would have been the youngest ever to win. In this case, it was legitimately “an honor just to be nominated.”
2.) Jordan Romero (Youngest Atop Everest)
CSMonitor
Back in 2010, Jordan Romero, a 13-year-old boy from Big Bear, California, became the youngest person ever to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Accompanied by a team that included his father, a paramedic, and their Sherpa guides, Romero reached the world’s highest peak when he was three years younger than the previous record-holder.
Having already climbed most of the world’s highest mountains, Romero now hopes to climb the highest mountains in all 50 US States.
1.) Sindhuja Rajaraman (Youngest CEO)
YourStory
Sure, working your way into middle management after ten years at the same company might feel like a legitimate accomplishment, but don’t get too high on your horse just yet.
Sindhuja Rajaraman, a young girl from India, became the youngest ever CEO when she founded Seppan Entertainment, an animation company based out of Chennai, when she was just 14 years old. Not only does she hold the title of CEO, but she’s also an animator and is among the fastest at 2D and 3D animation.
If you liked reading about adolescent record setters, click next to read about more remarkable young people.
