The world of sports never ceases to amaze us with its perennial emergence of dazzling new talent primed to capture our admiration and command the global stage. Each year brings forth a fresh crop of potential superstars (Rising Stars in Sports), athletes barely out of their teens—or sometimes still in them—already displaying the kind of prowess and maturity that speak to a future replete with championship titles and accolades.
These young Rising Stars in Sports are plucked from obscurity or steadily rising through youth ranks and are etching their names in the records of basketball courts, soccer fields, tennis arenas, cricket grounds, and beyond. Their early careers are not just tales of natural talent but narratives of unwavering dedication, rigorous training, and the indefatigable pursuit of greatness.
The world of sports is always evolving, with new Rising Stars in Sports emerging across various disciplines. Here are some Rising Stars in Sports from different sports who are expected to make a significant impact in 2024.
Football
Pablo Martín Páez Gavira, better known as Gavi, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club Barcelona and the Spain national team. He was born on 5 August 2004 in Los Palacios y Villafranca, Spain.
Gavi started his career at La Liara Balompié, a club in his hometown, where he spent two years, between 2010 and 20121. From there he moved on to Real Betis’s youth academy, where he spent two seasons. In 2015, at the age of 11, he signed for Barcelona.
In 2022, Gavi won the Golden Boy award and received the Kopa Trophy, awarded by France Football during the 2022 Ballon d’Or ceremony. He is widely regarded as one of the most promising young players in Spanish football and is expected to have a bright future in the sport.
Gavi from Barcelona is one of the best future soccer stars. He has shown exceptional skills and potential, making him one of the Rising Stars in Sports in 2024.
Basketball
Juan Núñez García, born on 4 June 2004, is a Spanish professional basketball player who currently plays for Ratiopharm Ulm of the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) and the EuroCup. He plays at the point guard position.
Núñez was born in Madrid and joined Real Madrid’s youth ranks in 2015. In his junior years, he stood out with his passing ability. He made his professional debut with Ratiopharm Ulm, and his performances have earned him recognition as one of the most promising young players in the world.
Standing at six foot three (1m91 / 6-3), Núñez has shown great potential and is expected to continue making his mark in the sport. Keep an eye on this rising star in the coming years!
Juan Nunez, a 19-year-old future star, has stepped into big shoes relatively easily, standing tall for Spain.
Tennis
Daniil Sergeyevich Medvedev is a Russian professional tennis player. He was born on 11 February 1996 in Moscow, Russia. Medvedev has been ranked as high as world No. 1 in men’s singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals, holding the ranking for a total of 16 weeks. He is currently ranked world No. 3 in singles.
Medvedev has won 20 ATP Tour singles titles, including the 2021 US Open and 2020 ATP Finals. In the former, Medvedev defeated then-world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the final to deny him the Grand Slam. In the latter, he became the first and only player to defeat the top three ranked players in the world en route to the year-end championship title.
He has also won six Masters titles, and contested five major finals. His six Masters titles all came in different venues, making him only the sixth player to win Masters titles at six different venues.
Daniil Medvedev is definitely one of the Rising Stars in Sports in the world of tennis. His impressive performances and potential make him a player to watch out for in 2024.
Daniil Medvedev is currently ranked number 4 in the world for men’s singles.
Snowboarding
Charlie Lane is a talented snowboarder who embarks on a full-time program training in the Swiss and Austrian Alps each winter season. He prepares and practices his snowboarding for top Junior European and World events in both freestyle and Freeeride. He is part of the Ellie Soutter Foundation’s team.
Charlie Lane started snowboarding when he was just seven years old during a family vacation to France. He quickly fell in love with the sport, especially the feeling of being in the air. Since then, he has been honing his skills and has become one of the top British prospects in his discipline.
In 2022, he won the Vans Groms Open, and Tour Stop 1 of the Valley Rally In Austria. He also entered two Junior Freeride Tour events in Chamonix and Nendaz (Swiss), where he came second in his first-ever Freeride Competition. In the same year, he also came second in the World Rookie Tour Finals (Freestyle) in Kaprun Austria, Groms.
Charlie Lane’s ultimate career ambition is to be in the X Games or the Winter Olympics. He is definitely a rising star in the world of snowboarding. His impressive performances and potential make him a player to watch out for in 2024.
Charlie Lane, a rising snowboard star from Great Britain, is known for his fluid style and effective techniques.
Alpine Skiing
Mikaela Shiffrin and Lara Gut-Behrami are the top prospects in alpine skiing. Both have shown exceptional performances and are expected to continue their success in 2024.
Mikaela Pauline Shiffrin, born on March 13, 1995, is an American World Cup alpine skier. She has the most World Cup wins of any alpine skier in history (men or women) and is considered one of the greatest Alpine skiers of all time. She is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist.
Shiffrin is a five-time Overall World Cup champion, a four-time world champion in slalom, and a seven-time winner of the World Cup discipline title in that event. She is the youngest slalom champion in Olympic alpine skiing history, at 18 years and 345 days.
Shiffrin made her professional debut with Ratiopharm Ulm, and her performances have earned her recognition as one of the most promising young players in the world. Keep an eye on this rising star in the coming years!
Lara Gut-Behrami, born on 27 April 1991, is a Swiss World Cup alpine ski racer. She competes in all disciplines and specializes in the speed events of downhill and Super-G. She won the gold medal in the Super-G event at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Gut-Behrami has been winning skiing races since she was 17. With 30 World Cup victories and counting, the 2016 overall title winner is currently the second most successful active female racer after Mikaela Shiffrin. She is a star in Switzerland, and this season she re-discovered her best form with four consecutive Super G wins that have put her in contention for another Crystal Globe.
Lara Gut-Behrami is definitely one of the Rising Stars in Sports in the world of alpine skiing. Her impressive performances and potential make her a player to watch out for in 2024.
Cricket
Rachin Ravindra is a New Zealand international cricketer. He was born on 18 November 1999 in Wellington, New Zealand. Rachin plays as a batting all-rounder for the New Zealand national cricket team. He made his international debut for the New Zealand cricket team in September 2021.
Ravindra was part of the New Zealand squad for the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in 2016. At just 16, he was the youngest player in the New Zealand squad. He also played in the 2018 U19 World Cup and was named one of the Rising Stars in Sports by the ICC.
In June 2018, he was awarded a contract with Wellington for the 2018–19 season. Ravindra made his List A debut for New Zealand A against Pakistan A in October 2018. He made his first-class debut for New Zealand A against the same side later in the month.
Ravindra is definitely a rising star in the world of cricket. His impressive performances and potential make him a player to watch out for in 2024.
Baseball
Jackson Holliday (born December 4, 2003) is an American professional baseball shortstop in the Baltimore Orioles organization. He was selected first overall by the Orioles in the 2022 Major League Baseball draft. He is the son of former MLB player and 7-time All-Star Matt Holliday.
Holliday attended Stillwater High School in Stillwater, Oklahoma. As a junior in 2021, Holliday batted .500 with six home runs and fifty runs batted in (RBIs). He was also named the Central Oklahoma Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. That summer, he played in various national events including the Perfect Game All-American Classic at Petco Park. He also was named to USA Baseball’s 18U team.
Holliday made his professional debut on August 11, 2022, with the Rookie-level Florida Complex League Orioles, going 1 for 3 with a stolen base. He was later promoted to the Delmarva Shorebirds of the Single-A Carolina League. Over twenty games between both teams, he batted .297 with one home run, nine RBIs, and four stolen bases.
Jackson Holliday is definitely one of the Rising Stars in Sports in the world of baseball. His impressive performances and potential make him a player to watch out for in the future.
Golf
Viktor Hovland is a Norwegian professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour and European Tour. He was born on 18 September 1997 in Oslo, Norway. He won the 2018 U.S. Amateur and reached number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking in 2019. Hovland became the first Norwegian to win on the PGA Tour (at the 2020 Puerto Rico Open) and on the European Tour (at the 2021 BMW International Open). He has since won five further times on the PGA Tour, including the 2023 Tour Championship resulting in his first FedEx Cup.
Hovland started playing golf at the age of eleven after his father Harald had taken up golf while working as an engineer in St. Louis. Five years later, in 2014, Hovland won the Norwegian Amateur Golf Championship as a 16-year-old. From 2016 to 2019, he played college golf at Oklahoma State University with, among others, Kristoffer Ventura. Hovland won the 2018 U.S. Amateur, the first Norwegian player to do so, and earned invitations into the 2019 Masters Tournament, the 2019 U.S. Open, and the 2019 Open Championship.
Hovland turned professional following the 2019 U.S. Open and made his professional debut at the Travelers Championship in June. By doing so, he forfeited his automatic entry to the 2019 Open Championship. In August, Hovland finished tied for second in the Albertsons Boise Open, part of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. This finish secured him a PGA Tour card for the 2019–20 season. Hovland set a PGA Tour record for most consecutive rounds in the 60s with 19 lasting into the second round of the CJ Cup in South Korea.
Viktor Hovland leads the list of rising golf stars under 25. He is definitely one of the Rising Stars in Sports in the world of golf. His impressive performances and potential make him a player to watch out for in 2024.
Athletics
Sha’Carri Richardson is an American track and field sprinter who competes in the 100-meter and 200-meter races. She was born on March 25, 2000. Richardson gained recognition as a freshman at Louisiana State University in 2019, breaking the 100 m record in 10.75 seconds at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships.
In her university freshman year, she broke the 100m sprint record at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships by clocking in a time of 10.75 seconds. However, at the U.S. trials that year, she tested positive for cannabis, a substance banned under World Anti-Doping Agency rules, and was handed a one-month suspension. That cost her a spot on the American team for Tokyo.
The 23-year-old’s redemption arc came full circle in 2023. After a stellar start to the season, Richardson returned to the U.S. trials and qualified for the world team in both the 100m and 200m, winning the shorter sprint. And at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, her first major outdoor international championships, the Dallas native broke Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s Championship record to win the women’s 100m world title in 10.65 seconds.
Sha’Carri Richardson is definitely one of the Rising Stars in Sports in the world of athletics. Her impressive performances and potential make her a player to watch out for in 2024.
Swimming
Kathryn Eileen Grimes, known as Katie Grimes, is an American competitive swimmer. She was born on January 8, 2006, in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Katie competes in freestyle, individual medley, and backstroke events. She is part of the Sandpipers competitive team in Nevada.
At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, she won silver medals in the 1500-meter freestyle and the 400-meter individual medley. She placed fourth in the 800-meter freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics, where she was the youngest member of the US Olympic Team at 15 years of age.
In 2023, Grimes became the first American to make the 2024 Olympic team across all sports by winning a bronze medal in the open-water 10km at the world swimming championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
Katie Grimes is definitely a rising star in the world of swimming. Her impressive performances and potential make her a player to watch out for in 2024.
These Rising Stars in Sports are not just athletes; they are the embodiment of dedication, hard work, and passion. They inspire millions around the world and continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in their respective sports. As we look forward to 2024, these athletes represent the future of sports, and we can’t wait to see what they will achieve.
The Road to Glory: Rising Stars in Sports
Essentials for Aspiring Young Athletes
Reaching the upper echelons of sports is no small feat; it’s a journey riddled with sweat, tenacity, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. While captivating stories of athletes like “The Flash” Thompson or “The Torpedo” Martinez continue to inspire, there’s a blueprint of sorts that these young athletes follow to attain such extraordinary success.
Fundamentals First:
Becoming a top athlete starts with a solid foundation. This means mastering basic techniques and understanding the mechanics of the sport inside and out. Coaches often emphasize the importance of getting the fundamentals right before attempting more complex maneuvers. This sets a growth stage and ensures that as the level of competition increases, the athlete won’t crumble under the pressure of advanced play.
Physical Conditioning:
Next is the physical aspect—conditioning the body to outperform the rest. Superior strength, agility, speed, and endurance are must-haves in the toolkit of any young athlete aspiring to greatness. Personalized training regimes, often designed by a professional trainer, ensure that each muscle is primed for the particular demands of their sport. This involves a mix of weight training, cardiovascular workouts, and sport-specific exercises, each meticulously planned to enhance performance.
Mental Toughness and Psychology:
However, muscles and speed aren’t the only things flexed in the heat of competition; the mind plays a crucial role in an athlete’s development. Mental fortitude is what separates good athletes from the truly great. The ability to maintain focus, handle pressure, strategize on the fly, and stay confident despite setbacks is invaluable. Techniques like visualization, mindfulness, and goal-setting are tools that many successful athletes use to keep their mental game sharp.
Nutrition and Recovery:
The engine of an athlete won’t run without the right fuel. Nutrition plays a vital role in energy levels, performance, and recovery. Tailored meal plans rich in proteins, carbs, healthy fats, and essential vitamins and minerals keep the body in peak performance mode. Recovery too is key; it’s critical to follow a strict regimen of rest, including sleep and active recovery days, to repair and strengthen the body between performances.
Coaching and Mentorship:
Paved on the road to the top is the undeniable influence of quality coaching and mentorship. A coach with a keen eye for potential and the expertise to refine raw talent into honed skills can make all the difference. Mentorship from those who’ve tread the path provides insight, real-world advice, and sometimes the tough love needed to push past boundaries.
Adaptability and Continuous Learning:
Lastly, the sporting world is ever-evolving. Techniques improve, competitors get stronger, and records are broken. Athletes who commit to a lifestyle of continuous learning and adaptability keep pace with these changes. They are the ones always on the lookout to fine-tune their regimen, embrace new technologies and training methodologies, and never settle for the status quo.
The path to the top may seem daunting, but those who carry the torch know that each element from fundamentals to continuous learning contributes to the tapestry of success. It’s more than just practice; it’s embracing an athlete’s life in all its challenges and triumphs. As the spotlight shines on the future of sports, remember, that greatness isn’t just in the victory but in every step of the journey there.
Conclusion
The journey of the Rising Stars in Sports is an intricate dance of ambition, skill, and resilience, performed under the unblinking spotlight of a world that both celebrates and scrutinizes their every move. As these young athletes navigate their path toward the zenith of their potential, we bear witness to the metamorphosis of exceptional talent into sporting legends.
Their stories are more than a mere chronicle of games won or records broken; they are a testament to the human spirit’s capacity to exceed boundaries and redefine excellence. With each powerful serve, goal, or dunk, they inspire the next generation of fans and athletes, ensuring the enduring legacy of sport as an indomitable facet of human culture.
