Participating in the Olympics is a huge accomplishment for any athlete, even if they don’t win a medal. Many athletes train their entire lives to fulfill their dream of being in the Olympics. For athletes to qualify for the Olympics, they have to follow the rules of the Olympic Charter and the International Federation of the sport in which they compete. The National Olympic Committee, also known as the NOC chooses which athletes will compete in the games.
One of the most interesting parts of the Olympics is there’s no age limit for an athlete to participate. While each International Sports Federation has its own rules, there have been athletes as young as 10 years old competing in the Olympics.
Even though we do have the name of the athlete who is officially the youngest athlete to compete in the Olympics, there’s also an unknown athlete who competed in the 1900 Olympics. For years, historians have tried to identify the boy in an image of the Dutch rowing team since the young athlete’s age is unknown.
With the Paris 2024 Olympics coming up in July, it’s interesting to look back on some of the youngest Olympic athletes in history. (After this article, check out the 9 Youngest Olympic Gold Medalists in History.)
To create a list of the youngest Olympic athletes in sports history, 24/7 consulted several sources including the Olympics, Topend Sports, and CNN. Sixteen of the youngest Olympians in history are listed below in descending order.
Lilly Stoephasius
- Age at First Olympic Games: 14
- Team: Germany
- Sport: Skateboarding
Lilly Stoephasius is an Olympic skateboarder and was one of the first athletes to participate in this Olympic sport. The first Olympics to have skateboarding as one of the games was the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Stoephasius learned to skateboard at a young age and at 14 years old, she became the youngest German athlete to participate in the Olympics.
Quan Hongchan
- Age at First Olympic Games: 14
- Team: People’s Republic of China
- Sport: Diving
Quan Hongchan has been diving since she was seven years old. After joining the Guangdong Provincial Diving Team in 2018, she qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. She was the youngest Chinese athlete competing at the 2020 Olympics. Hongchan won her first gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the Women’s 10m Platform event.
Momiji Nishiya
- Age at First Olympic Games: 13
- Team: Japan
- Sport: Skateboarding
Momiji Nishiya was another young skater to participate as one of the first Olympic skateboarders. At only 13 years old, Nishiya took home the gold medal in the Women’s Street event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. After winning the gold medal in skateboarding, she became the youngest Olympic Gold Medalist from Japan.
Kim Yun-Mi
- Age at First Olympic Games: 13
- Team: Republic of Korea
- Sport: Speed Skating
Kim Yun-Mi first competed in the Lillehammer 1994 Olympics at the age of 13. In her first Olympic event, she broke the record for being the youngest Olympic winner at the Winter Games. At the 1994 games, she won a gold medal in the 3,000-meter Relay. Yun-Mi won her second gold medal at the Nagano 1998 games in the same event.
Donna Elizabeth de Varona
- Age at First Olympic Games: 13
- Team: United States of America
- Sport: Swimming
Donna Elizabeth de Varona competed in the Rome 1960 Olympics at 13 years old as the youngest member of the Olympic swim team that year. She won her first gold medal in the 4×100 meters Freestyle Relay and went on to win two more gold medals at the Tokyo 1964 Olympics.
Marjorie Gestring
- Age at First Olympic Games: 14
- Team: United States of America
- Sport: Diving
Behind Klaus Zerta, Marjorie Gestring is the second youngest Olympian to win a gold medal. Gestring competed on the US team at the Berlin 1936 Olympics, winning a gold medal in the Springboard Diving event. She still holds the title of the youngest female Olympian to win an Olympic gold medal.
Klaus Zerta
- Age at First Olympic Games: 13
- Team: Germany
- Sport: Rowing
Klaus Zerta was on the German rowing team in the Rome 1960 Olympics. He ended up winning a gold medal in the Coxed Pairs event, becoming the youngest Olympic gold medalist in history. Zerta only competed in the Rome 1960 Olympics and went on to become a tennis coach later in life. During his time as an athlete, Zerta also won the Silver Bay Leaf, the highest award an athlete can win in Germany.
Rayssa Leal
- Age at First Olympic Games: 13
- Team: Brazil
- Sport: Skateboarding
Rayssa Leal first became well known due to videos of her skateboarding going viral on social media. A clip of her skateboarding at seven years old in a fairy princess costume even got a shout-out from professional skateboarder Tony Hawk. Leal competed in the Olympics for the first time in Tokyo at only 13 years old. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, she won a silver medal in the Women’s Street Skateboarding event.
Sky Brown
- Age at First Olympic Games: 13
- Team: Great Britain
- Sport: Skateboarding
Sky Brown has been an avid skateboarder since she was four years old. The young athlete first competed in the Olympics at the Tokyo 2020 Games at 13 years old. Brown started breaking records before her debut at the Olympics and in 2016, was the youngest Vans US Open participant. She won a bronze medal in the Women’s Park event at the Tokyo Games.
Gaurika Singh
- Age at First Olympic Games: 13
- Team: Nepal
- Sport: Swimming
Gaurika Singh first started competing in swimming competitions at eight years old. Singh’s first Olympic event was the Rio 2016 Games, where she came in 31st place in the 100-meter Backstroke. She was the youngest Olympian athlete to compete in the 2016 Games. Singh also participated in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics where she finished in 50th place.
Kokona Hiraki
- Age at First Olympic Games: 12
- Team: Japan
- Sport: Skateboarding
Kokona Hiraki is an Olympic skateboarder who holds the title of the youngest Japanese athlete to compete in the Summer Olympics. Hiraki has been skateboarding since she was five and started competing in skateboarding competitions when she was nine years old. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, she won the silver medal in the Women’s Park Skateboarding Event.
Judit Kiss
- Age at First Olympic Games: 12
- Team: Hungary
- Sport: Swimming
Judit Kiss was a Hungarian swimmer who participated in her first Olympic competition at the age of 12. Although she didn’t win any medals, Kiss did compete in two Olympic competitions. Her first competition was the Barcelona 1992 Olympics, where she competed in the 800-meter Freestyle and 400-meter Freestyle events. Kiss competed again at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics, coming in 38th place in the 40-meter Freestyle.
Hend Zaza
- Age at First Olympic Games: 12
- Team: Syrian Arab Republic
- Sport: Table Tennis
Hend Zaza started playing table tennis at the age of five. Although she wasn’t the first Syrian athlete to compete in the table tennis competition, she was the first to qualify. Zaza first competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the Women’s Singles event. She was the youngest athlete at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Inge Sørense
- Age at First Olympic Games: 12
- Team: Denmark
- Sport: Swimming
At the age of 12, Inge Sørense competed in the Berlin 1936 Olympics. Sørense won the bronze medal in the 200-meter Breaststroke event that year. After the 1936 Olympics, she became the youngest Olympic medal winner in an individual competition. She only competed in the Olympics once due to the interference of World War II and she worked as a swimming instructor after the war.
Beatrice Huștiu
- Age at First Olympic Games: 11
- Team: Romania
- Sport: Figure Skating
Beatrice Huștiu competed in the Olympics as a figure skater at 11 years old. Even though she had rickets as a child, she started skating at the age of five. Huștiu competed in the Grenoble 1968 Winter Olympics, coming in 29th in the Women’s Singles Figure Skating event. She was also the flag-bearer for Romania at the opening ceremony.
Dimitrios Loundras
- Age at First Olympic Games: 10
- Team: Greece
- Sport: Gymnastics
Even though Dimitrios Loundras competed in the first international Olympic Games in 1896, he still holds the title of youngest Olympic athlete. During the Athens 1896 Olympics, Dimitrios Loundras competed in the Artistic Gymnastics competition along with the rest of the Ethnikos Gymnastikos Syllogos team. The team ended up winning a bronze medal in the Parallel Bars event. (Don’t miss the Athletes with the Most Medals Ever from the Summer Olympics.)