The Greatest Athletes of All Time
Creating a list of the greatest sports stars of all time is, of course, controversial and subjective. However, there are some names that consistently appear in the top 100 rankings. While their names may be familiar, what is largely unknown is that many of these GOATs hail from teen parent families or were teen parents themselves.
So, we’ve created a list of 15 world-renowned GOATs who have not only shown unparalleled athletic prowess – speed, endurance, strength, power and/or coordination – but who’ve also demonstrated that teen pregnancy and teen parenting are not as life limiting as society may lead us to believe. Forget scandals and stigma, these world-class athletes are universally revered! Okay, okay, let’s not get too carried away, of course they’ve still had their share of controversies and scandals, including delivering ‘the biggest insult in Egyptian history’ and wearing a “catsuit” bodysuit to play in the French Open (read on for all the tea!). These athletes have defined their sports and defied the stereotypes.
But before we get to our list, let’s define the term GOAT. In September 2018, amongst 840 new words that were added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, GOAT was defined for the first time (of course, we’re not talking about the hollow horned ruminant mammals related to the sheep but of a lighter build and with backwardly arching horns, a short tail, and unusually straight hair). GOAT stands for the Greatest Of All Time and is defined as: “the most accomplished and successful individual in the history of a particular sport or category of performance or activity”. The Merriam-Webster dictionary lists an example of GOAT in a sentence: “If championships alone are the measuring stick, then Michael [Jordan] is probably going to remain the popular choice as the GOAT. But if I can go on aesthetics alone, I know I’d rather watch LeBron [James]. – Bob Ryan”.
By GOATS, we are not talking about the hollow horned ruminant mammals related to sheep… but rather the “Greatest Of All Time” individuals in a particular sport
Given this definition let’s kick off with the two names mentioned in the dictionary examples, LeBron James and Michael Jordan...
1. LeBron James
Basketball Player (United States): NBA Champion (x4), NBA Finals MVP (x4), NBA MVP (x4), NBA All-Star (x20), Olympic Gold Medallist (x2).
LeBron James was the son of a teen mother (aged 16 at the time of his birth), and he became a father at the age of 19.
LeBron James was born in December 1984, in Akron, Ohio. His mother Gloria Marie James was aged 16 and raised LeBron on her own as a single mother.
In LeBron’s early years he and his mother lived with his maternal grandmother until she passed away when LeBron was three years old. After six years and 12 different moves Gloria made the decision to allow LeBron to live with a youth football coach for a year while she found stable housing and steady work. It was during this time that LeBron was introduced to basketball. He soon became renowned for his all-around scoring, passing, athleticism and playmaking abilities.
By age 19, LeBron was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick of the 2003 NBA draft. It was at this time, that LeBron’s high school sweetheart, Savannah James, fell pregnant. LeBron was aged 19 and Savannah was aged 18 when their son Bronny was born.
LeBron and Savannah married in 2013 and now have three children. Their oldest son Bronny has become a standout basketball player and in 2023 was named a McDonald’s All American, two decades after his father’s selection.
LeBron defied the odds. Despite being a teen parent, he not only broke the cycle of single parenting but went on to become a GOAT. In addition to the accolades mentioned above, he remains the all-time leading scorer in NBA history, continues to be a member of the U.S. men’s national team, and is currently the oldest player in the NBA.
2. Michael Jordan
Basketballer (United States): NBA Champion (x6), NBA Finals MVP (x6), NBA MVP (x5), NBA All-Star (x14).
Michael Jordan’s mother, Deloris, was aged 16 when she had her first child (Michael’s oldest sibling – James Ronald “Ronnie” Jr), and she was 20 years old when she fell pregnant with Michael.
Deloris Peoples was born in North Carolina in September 1941. Thirteen years later, while at a school basketball game, she met a schoolmate on the basketball team named James Raymond Jordan Sr. Romance quickly ensued and the couple dated for the next three years.
After graduating high school, Deloris moved to Alabama to attend a trade school and Jordan Sr. joined the Air Force. In 1956, Jordan Sr. was deployed to a base in Virginia and Deloris moved with him. The couple were soon married and welcomed their first child – James Ronald “Ronnie” Jr. in 1957. Deloris was 16 years and Jordan Sr. was 21 years old.
Within the ensuing years the couple had two more children together, left the Air Force, and moved to New York. Deloris worked as a bank teller and Jordan Sr. trained to become a mechanic. During this time, Deloris also became pregnant with Michael. Michael would ultimately become one of the most renowned and crowned basketballers in all of history. He also became the first basketball player billionaire. Evidently, starting a family while she was young did not limit the success of Deloris’ family.
3. Wayne Gretzky
Ice hockey player (Canada): Art Ross Trophy (x10), Conn Smythe Trophy (x2), Lester B. Pearson Trophy (x5).
Wayne’s mother, Phyllis, was 19 years old when Wayne was born.
Phyllis (Hockin) and Walter Gretzky married in 1960. On the 26 January 1961, Phyllis gave birth to Wayne Douglas Gretzky in Ontario, Canada. Phyllis was 19 years old, and Walter was aged 22. Phyllis and Walter had four more children in the ensuing years. When Wayne was young his family visited his grandparents’ farm. Together, his family would watch Hockey Night in Canada. By age two, Wayne would use a souvenir stick to try and score goals against his grandmother, Mary. It was also on his grandparent’s farm that Wayne skated on ice for the first time aged 2 years and 10 months.
When Wayne was aged ten, he played a season with the Brandfor Nadrofsky Steelers and scored a jaw-dropping number of goals – 378 goals and 139 assists! By the time he became a teenager, he had scored over 1000 goals.
Ultimately, Wayne would go on to play 20 seasons in the National Hockey League. During his playing years he earned the nickname “the Great One’ and became the leading career goal scorer, assist producer and point scorer in NHL history. He has more career assists than any other player has total points. He scored over 200 points in a single season, and then repeated that in three subsequent seasons. Clearly, being the child of a teen mother was no impediment for Wayne. When he retired at 38, he held 61 NHL records: 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records, and 6 All-Star records.
4. Pelé
Footballer (Brazil): World Cup (x3), Brasileiro Serie A (x6), senior career appearances = 647 (goals = 606), international appearances = 92 (goals = 72).
Pelé was born on 23 October 1940. His mother, Celeste Arantes (affectionately known as “Dona Celeste” in Brazil), was aged 17.
Celeste was born in the Brazilian town of Três Corações in 1922. She was 17 years old when she gave birth to Pelé. He was named Edson Arantes do Nascimento after Thomas Edison (but there was a typo on his birth certification). It was during his school days that he received the nickname ‘Pelé’, after he allegedly mispronounced his favourite football star, Vasco da Gama goalkeeper Bilé. (The word ‘Pelé’ has no meaning in Portuguese.)
Pelé came from humble beginnings. His father taught him to play football, but because they couldn’t afford a real football, they used a sock stuffed with newspaper or a grapefruit and tied with string. It didn’t take long for Pelé’s talents to be revealed and he led his junior club to two São Paulo state youth championships. By his mid-teens, Pelé was playing futsal (indoor football), which he said was a lot quicker than football on the grass and he credits this for helping him to think better on the spot. When he tried out for his first professional club at 15, Pelé’s juniors coach told the club’s directors that Pelé would be ‘the greatest football player in the world’. The club recognised his talents and signed him up on a professional contract in June 1956. Three months later when he made his senior team debut, he scored his first goal.
By age 16, Pelé became the top scorer in his league. Within months he secured his place in the Brazil national team. He continued to be a prolific goal scorer and after leading his team to victory in the 1962 World Cup, the Brazilian president declared Pelé an ‘official national treasure’. He went on to become one of the most lauded football players of all time and one of the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th Century.
5. Joe Montana
American Footballer (Unites States): Super Bowl Champion (x4), Super Bowl MVP (x3), NFL MVP (x2).
Joe’s mother, Theresa, was born on 23 Dec 1935. She fell pregnant with Joe when she was 19 years old, and he was born on the 11th of June 1956.
Joseph Montana, Jr. was born in New Eagle, Pennsylvania. His parents were Italian-Americans. His mother, Theresa Marie Bavuso, was from Sicily and his father, Joseph Montana, was from northern Italy. Joe was an only child. His parents worked for Civic Finance – his father was the manager and his mother a secretary (when she wasn’t being a homemaker).
From an early age, Joe expressed a keen athletic ability. When he was big enough to walk, his father put a ball in Joe’s hands and said, “Throw it.” By the age of eight, he started to play youth football – his father had listed him as a nine-year old to meet the minimum age requirements for his league. He also used to throw footballs through a swinging tyre in his backyard, mimicking his idol, Terry Hanratty.
Joe’s football career took off after he started at Notre Dame University in the fall of 1974. In his junior year he was a third-string quarterback. After coming off the bench to secure a comeback victory for Notre Dame in the third game of the 1977 season, he was elevated to starter. He had a strong season and guided his team to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1-A national championship and to victory in the Cotton Bowl. Following this, Montana was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 1979 NFL draft.
Joe led the 49s to their first Super Bowl victory in 1982, where he was also awarded MVP honours. The 49ers won subsequent Super Bowl titles in 1985, 1989 (in a dramatic late-game drive) and 1990 (by the largest margin of victory in Super Bowl history – 45 points). Montana also won the Super Bowl MVP again in 1985 and 1990 – making him the first player to win this accolade three times! Joe was also named NFL MVP in 1989 and 1990. By 1993, Montana was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs (after missing almost two years of game play due to an elbow injury). He earned a trip to the Pro Bowl and led the Chiefs to the play-offs in his two seasons with the team. Joe retired in 1995, finishing his career with 31 fourth-quarter comeback victories (he was dubbed ‘The Comeback Kid’) and 10 play-off appearances in his 11 full seasons as an NFL starting quarterback.
Joe Montana was introduced to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000. During his induction speech, the eight-time Pro Bowler said of his parents that, “They taught me to never quit and to strive to be my best.” He commented that they, “were always there. They took me where I wanted to be, where I needed to be and got me there on time and made tremendous sacrifices to make sure I had things that they never had.” Joe has also noted that his fondest childhood memory was playing ball in the backyard with his Dad and then coming into the kitchen where his mother would have a steaming pot of ravioli on the stove. “That was the best!”, he said.
6. Lionel “Leo” Messi
Footballer (Argentina): World Cup, La Liga (x10), Champions League (x4), Ligue 1 (x2), Ballon d’Or (x8), European Golden Shoes (x6).
Lionel’s mother, Celia Cuccittini, was pregnant with her first child Rodrigo Messi when she was aged 19. She subsequently gave birth to three other children including the famed Argentine football player Lionel.
Celia Cuccittini was born in Argentina on the 23 January 1960. Her parents were Italian. Her husband Jorge Horacio Messi worked in a factory and Celia worked as a part-time house cleaner and in a magnet manufacturing factory to help supplement the family income. Due to Celia’s work commitments, during the first three years of Lionel’s life, he only got to see his mother every four months. Jorge was his primary caregiver during this time.
Lionel’s family were a tight-knit football loving family and Lionel developed an aptitude and passion for the game from very early on. He constantly played with his older brothers, Rodrigo and Matias, and his cousins, Maximiliano and Emanuel (both of whom went on to become professional footballers). By age four, Lionel joined his local club, where he was coached by his father. Before he reached his teen years, Lionel had already scored over 500 goals. In September 2000, when Lionel was 13 years old, he had his first trial with Barcelona; shortly thereafter he was offered a contract on a paper napkin. Lionel’s acceptance meant a move to Spain and the start of an unparalleled club career that spanned over two decades.
Lionel was named by FIFA as the world’s best football player for a record eight times. As a prolific goal scorer and creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most goals (474), hat-tricks (36), and assists in La Liga (192). He has also scored the most international goals by a South American male (106) and the most goals for a single club (672). He also became the second footballer and second team-sport athlete to surpass $1 billion in career earnings.
In addition to his outstanding performances, Messi has also been embroiled in a few controversies over the decades. One that may have started out innocently enough quickly caused a national stir in Egypt. On live TV Messi offered to donate a pair of his used football boots to an Egyptian charity. While this may sound like a goodwill gesture in some cultures, it was seen as a great offense against the Egyptian people. “We (Egyptians) have never been so humiliated during our seven thousand years of civilisation”, responded Hasasin, a controversial parliamentarian and TV presenter. It seems that Messi may have been oblivious to the offensive nature of his gift, not understanding that shoes have a lowly place in Arab culture. While famed Egyptian striker Ahmed “Mido” Hossam and others came to Messi’s defence, it seems it was a significant faux pas and considered by some the greatest insult in Egyptian history.
7. Simone Biles
Gymnast (United States): Olympic Gold Medal (x4), World Championships Gold Medal (x23), Pacific Rim Championships Gold Medal (x2).
Simone’s biological mother, Shannon, was born on the 8 July 1974. When she was aged around 15 and 17, Shannon gave birth to Simone’s two older siblings, Ashely and Tevin. Simone was born a few years later in March 1997. Simone’s mother struggled with addictions and served time in jail, leading Simone and her siblings (including her younger sister Adria) to be placed in foster care. Simone and Adria were adopted by their biological grandfather (Ronald) and his wife (Nellie) when Simone was aged 6. Ronald’s sister took in Ashley and Tevin.
Ronald and Nellie first met when Ronald was serving in the Air Force and stationed in San Antonio, Texas. Nellie was a nursing student. Ronald was also a single father to Biles’ biological mother, Shannon. They married in early 1977 and had two sons. As Shannon aged, she battled alcohol and drug addiction. By the time her four children were born, she was unable to provide adequate care and protection for them and they were placed in foster care. Eventually, Simone and her siblings were adopted by their extended family members (their grandparents and great aunt) when Simone was 6 years old. Before long, Simone was enrolled in gymnastics classes and her talent was immediately recognised.
In 2012, Biles switched to home schooling so she could train 32 hours per week. She also competed in the USA Gymnastics National Championships, placing well in several categories, including third all-around and first on vault. This secured her place in the U.S. Junior National Team. Biles’ performances went from strength to strength and at age 16, Biles became the seventh American female and the first African-American to win the world all-around title.
Fast-forward a decade and Biles’ has become one of the most decorated gymnasts in history. She broke the record for most World Championship medals in gymnastics in 2019 – she’s currently at 30 medals. She’s also the first American female gymnast to win a medal on every gymnastics event in the World Championships and Olympics. With seven Olympic medals (including four gold medals), this also puts her in a very elite category of world athletes across all sports. In 2022, she was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2023, Biles also won her eighth U.S. Gymnastics title, breaking a 90-year old US title record.
8. Cristiano Ronaldo
Footballer (Portugal): UEFA European Championship, Premier League (x3), La Liga (x2), Serie A (x2), UEFA Champions League (x5), UEFA Nations League (x1), Ballon d'Or (x5), UEFA Men’s Player of the Year (x3), European Golden Shoes (x4).
Cristiano’s mother, Maria Dolores dos Santos Viveiros da Aveiro, was born on the 31 Dec 1954 and his father, José Dinis Aveiro, was born on the 30 Sept 1953. Their first child, Elma dos Santos Aveiro was born while they were both still in their late teens (on the 10 March 1973).
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born in Madeira, Portugal on 5 February 1985. Ronaldo was named after his father’s favourite actor, Ronald Reagan (also a former US President) and was the youngest of four siblings. His family grew up in a small tin-roofed house in a working-class area. Cristiano’s father, José, was a gardener who struggled with alcohol addiction. His mother, Maria, provided a stable income through her work as a cleaner and cook. Ronaldo was introduced to football by his father and by the time he was 10 years old he was already known as a child who ‘slept, ate, and drank the game’.
Ronaldo made his first international debut for Portugal in 2003. He was aged eighteen.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Ronaldo holds numerous records, including for most appearances (183), goals (140) and assists (42) in the Champions League, goals in the European Championship (14), international goals (130) and international appearances (207). He has made over 1,200 professional career appearances (which is a record matched by very few and the most by an outfield player), and has scored over 890 official senior career goals for club and country, making him the top goal scorer of all time. According to Forbes magazine in 2016, 2017, and 2023, Ronaldo was ranked the world’s highest-paid athlete. He was also named the world’s most famous athlete by ESPN from 2016 to 2019 and included in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world. He was also the first footballer and third sportsperson to earn US $1 billion in his career.
9. Jesse Owens
Track and Field Athlete (United States): Olympic Gold Medal (x4). Individual NCAA Championships (x8).
Jesse Owens became a father at age 18. His partner became a mother at age 17. Jesse’s parents were both teen parents when they had their first child.
James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens was born on the 12 September 1913. Jesse was the youngest of 10 children born to Henry Cleveland Owens and Mary Emma Fitzgerald. His parents were sharecroppers and his grandparents had been slaves. As a child, Owens picked cotton with his family until his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio seeking better opportunities in 1922 (along with 1.6 million African Americans who left the segregated and rural South for the urban and industrialised North between 1910 and 1940). When he started a new school, James’ teacher asked his name and he replied J.C., but due to his strong Southern acent, she thought his name was ‘Jesse’. The name stuck and for the rest of his life he was known as Jesse Owens.
In junior high, Owens met Minnie Ruth Solomon, who was two years younger than him. They dated throughout high school and in 1932, Ruth gave birth to their first child Gloria. They would go on to marry and have two more daughters. They remained married for the rest of Owens’ life.
As a youth, Owens had multiple jobs delivering groceries, loading freight cars and working in a shoe repair store. But his real passion was running. Owens first came into the spotlight when he was a high school student and equalled the world record of 9.4 secords in the 100 yards dash (91m) and long jumped 7.56m (24 feet 9 ½ inches). In university, Owens won a record eight individual NCAA championships.
On the 25th of May, 1935, Jesse Owens achieved a truly remarkable feat. In the span of 45 minutes Owens set three world records and tied a fourth! This astounding performance has never been equalled and has been called “the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport.” This has led Owens to being regarded as “perhaps the greatest and most famous athlete in track and field history”. In the 1936 Summer Olympics Owens also won four gold medals in the 100 metres, long jump, 200 metres, and 4 x 100 metres relay. The Jesse Owens Award remains USA Track and Field’s highest accolade and is awarded to the year’s best track and field athlete. ESPN ranked Owens as the sixth-gretest North American athlete of the 20th Century and the highest-ranked track and field athlete. In 1999, he was also on the six-man shorlist for the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Century.
10. Venus & Serena Williams
Tennis Players (United States): Venus: Wimbledon (x5), US Open (x2), Olympic Gold Medal for singles (x1). Serena: Australian Open (x7), Wimbledon (x7), French Open (x3), US Open (x6), Olympic Gold Medal for singles (x1). Both: ranked number 1 by the WTA in singles and doubles, Olympic Gold Medals for doubles (x3).
Serena’s mother, Oracene Price, was pregnant at aged 19 with Serena’s oldest sibling Yetunde Price. She had two more children to her first husband, Yusef Rasheed. After Rasheed’s death, Oracene married Richard Williams and had two more daughters, Venus and Serena Williams.
Serena’s mother, Oracene “Brandy” Price was born in Saginaw, Michigan in 1952. She graduated from high school in 1970 and worked as a nurse. She married Yusef Rasheed, and they had their first of three children together in 1972. Rasheed passed away from a stroke in 1979. The following year, Oracene married Richard Williams. While living in Compton California, the couple welcomed their daughter Venus in June 1980 and then their daughter Serena on the 26 September 1981.
Both Venus and Serena were homeschooled by their father and showed talent from an early age. The Williams family moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 1993 so that both Serena and Venus could attend a renowned tennis academy. By the time Venus was eleven, she held a 63-0 record on the United States Tennis Association junior tour and was ranked No. 1 in under-12 players in Southern California. Likewise, Serena was ranked No. 1 in the under-10 players in Florida and had a 46-3 record on the United States Tennis Association junior tour. Within a couple of years, Richard pulled his daughters from the academy and together with his wife, the girls were coached at home. They took some time off the junior circuit to concentrate on their studies.
In 1994, Venus turned professional and reached her first major final in 1997 (the US Open). Serena’s professional debut was in October 1995, but she lost in the first qualifying round. After not playing in 1996, Serena returned a year later and recorded her first career wins over top 10 ranked players. In the 1999 US Open, Serena defeated the No. 1 ranked player, Martina Hingis, to win the tournament. She became the second African-American woman to win a Grand Slam tournament. The Williams sisters also won the doubles event at this tournament. In 2000 and 2001, Venus claimed the Wimbledon and US Open titles and singles gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She reached world No. 1 on 25 February 2002, becoming the first African-American woman to do so in the Open era, and the second to do so ever. The Williams sisters won the doubles event at the Australian Open in 2001, becoming the fifth doubles team in history to win all four Grand Slam women’s doubles titles, completing a “Career Grand Slam”. In 2002, after the French Open, Venus and Serena were ranked world No. 1 and world No. 2 on singles, respectively, which made them the first sisters ever to occupy the top two global positions. They repeated this feat in 2010, this time with Serena in No. 1 spot (and they were also the No. 1 doubles players later that year).
Both players have also won four gold medals at the Olympics, one each in singles and three in doubles (won together) – the most of any tennis players. Their family were also the subject of the Oscar-nominated film King Richard. While their father evidently played a crucial role in their lives and tennis careers, their older sister, Isha Price, credited the family matriarch, Oracene, for leading the way. “…my mother, Oracene Price, was still the actual glue that held it all together. She was the doer, the provider, the comforter and sometimes even the friend that we all needed at various times of our lives.”
Oh, and it’s worth mentioning that in September 2017 Serena gave birth to her first child, Olympia. All her feats since, including reaching four major finals, were achieved as a mother. In addition to meeting the challenges of motherhood, Serena has had to rise above public criticism. One example of this was in May 2018, when Serena was criticised for wearing a so-called ‘catsuit’ bodysuit to the French Open. This specially designed suit helped to prevent blood clots as Serena had given birth only a few months earlier. Ultimately this stirred up enough controversy that the French Open President said that the suit would no longer be accepted in future tournaments.
11. Nadia Comăneci
Gymnast (Romania): Olympic Gold Medal (x5), Olympic Silver Medal (x3), Olympic Bronze Medal (x1), World Championships (x4), World Cup Final (x3), European Championships (x12), Summer Universiade (x33).
Nadia Comăneci was born on the 12 Nov 1961. Her mother, Ștefania-Alexandrina Comăneci, was 19 years old when she fell pregnant with Nadia.
It was on the 12 November, 1961, in the small town of Onești, in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, that one of the world’s greatest gymnasts was born. Her name was Nadia. Her mother, Ștefania-Alexandrina, recounts that Nadia was so full of energy that she was hard to manage. This led Ștefania-Alexandrina to enrol Nadia into gymnastics classes in kindergarten as a safer alternative to swinging from trees, houses and other objects. There the star learned to do her first roll and grab on the bar. By the age of six, Nadia was spotted doing cartwheels with a friend and selected to attend an experimental gymnastics school that was just opening in her hometown. The friend went on to become one of Romania’s top ballerinas. Nadia, on the otherhand, had a supernatural aptitude for gymnastics and by the age of nine, had become the youngest gymnast ever to win the Romanian Nationals.
In 1971, Nadia participated in her first international competition, and won her first all-around title and contributed to her team’s gold placing. Comăneci continued to win international tournaments in Hungary, Italy and Poland for the next few years. Around this time, her parents separated. As Comăneci entered her teenage years she continued to excel on the international stage, with nearly a clean sweep of the board at the 1975 European Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Norway. In 1976, Comăneci competed in the inaugural America Cup at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. She received rare scores of 10, testifying that her floor exercise routine and her vault performances were perfect.
A few months later Comăneci dominated at the Summer Olympics in Montreal. She made history by receiving the first perfect 10 in Olympics gymnastics. However, because the official Olympics scoreboard manufacturer had been led to believe that perfect 10s were impossible, the scoreboard could not display a 10 and thus appeared as 1.00. Comăneci actually scored seven 10s in total, four on the uneven bars and three on the beam. Needless to say, she took home several medals including three gold medals. She also set a record for the youngest ever Olympic gymnastics all-around champion at age 14. A record that is unlikely to ever be beaten given that the minimum age for competing has now been raised to 15. Comăneci also competed and excelled at the Summer Olympics in 1980 winning four more medals.
Throughout Comăneci’s career she was subjected to round-the-clock surveillance by the Securitate secret police, as Romanian officials feared that Comăneci might defect, like many other athletes from Communist countries. Her actions were strictly monitored and in the later years she was not allowed to travel outside the country, except for a few select trips to Moscow and Cuba and for the Olympics. Once Comăneci retired in 1984, she said her life took on a new bleakness and she was cut off from making the small amount of income that had made a difference to her family. A few weeks before the Romanian revolution, on a night in late November 1989, Comăneci and a small group of others, crossed the Hungary-Romania border and journeyed by foot to Austria (mostly at night). From there she took a plane to the United States and successfully sought asylum.
Comăneci has since been recognised as one of the BBC’s 100 Women of 2017. She has also been called ‘the most iconic gymnast of the 20th Century’ by El Pais and named one of the Athletes of the 20th Century by the Laureus World of Sports Academy in 2000.
12. Neymar
Footballer (Brazil): La Liga (x1), Copa del Rey (x1), UEFA Champions Leage (x1), Ligue 1 Player of the Year (x1), Ligue 1 titles (x5)
Neymar became a father at the age of 19. Neymar’s girlfriend at the time, Carolina Dantas, was 17 when she gave birth.
Neymar da Silva Santos Junior was born in São Paulo, Brazil on 5 February 1992. He made his professional football debut with Santos in 2009 and within two years helped them win their first Copa Libertadores, South America’s premier international club football tournament, in nearly 50 years. Just two months later on the 24 August 2011, Neymar became a first-time father. His girlfriend, Carolina Dantas, was 17 years old and gave birth to their son, Davi Lucca da Silva Santos, at a hospital in São Paulo. Initially, Carolina’s identity was kept private. While the couple split soon after Davi’s birth the couple have stayed on good terms and share custody.
Despite becoming a young father, Neymar’s professional football career went from strength to strength. In 2013, he joined Barcelona and became part of a renowned attacking trio with the famed Lionel Messi (also from a teen parent family) and Luis Suárez. Together the trio led their team to win the continental treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions league in their first season together. Neymar was the join-top scorer of the Champions League and the top scorer in the Copa del Rey. In 2017, he became the most expensive player ever in a transfer to Paris Saint-German worth 222 million Euros. He went on to win Ligue 1 Player of the Year, five Ligue 1 titles and was pivotal to PSG becoming finalists in the 2019-20 Champions League. In 2012 and 2013, SportsPro named Neymar the world’s most marketable athlete.
In his home country, Brazil, Neymar is the nation’s all-time top goalscorer, with 79 goals scored in 128 matches. He won the Golden Ball at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and was named in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Dream Team. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Neymar captained Brasil to their first Olympic Gold Medal in men’s football. He’d already received a silver medal at the previous Olympics. In 2021 he again aided Brazil to become Runners-Up in the 2021 Copa America, where he was jointly awarded Best Player. He made history again in 2022 when he became the third Brazilian player to score in three World Cups after Pelé and Ronaldo (both of whom also came from teen parent families). In 2023, Neymar became the most expensive signing in Saudi Pro League history, where he signed for Al Hilal at a cost of 90 million Euros. He is reportedly earning 150 million Euros per year at Al Hilal, six times more than he was was being paid at PSG.
13. Kim Clijsters
Tennis Player (Belgian): Ranked World No.1 in both singles and doubles (x1), WTA singles titles (x41), WTA doubles titles (x11), WTA Tour Championships (x3), US Open Champion singles (x3), Australian Open Champion singles (x1), Wimbledon Champion doubles (x1) and French Open Champion doubles (x1).
Els Vandecaetsbeek was 18 years old when she gave birth to her daughter Kim Clijsters on the 8 June 1983.
Kim Clijsters was born in Bilsen, a small town in northeastern Belgian. She was thedaughter of two accomplished athletes. Her mother, Els Vandecaetsbeek, was a Belgian gymnastics champion and her father Lei Clijsters was an international footballer, playing for Belgium in two World Cups. Clijsters credits her parents with giving her footballer’s legs and a gymnast’s flexibility.
After winning the 1988 Gouden Schoen (Golden Shoe) in Belgian’s First Division Football league, Lei had a clay tennis court built at home as a gift for Kim. Kim was five years old and she had already begun playing tennis earlier in the year. After her clay court was finished, Kim became fixated on the sport. By the age of nine, she was training 15 hours per week with her sister. In 1993, Kim won the 12-and-under division doubles title of the Belgian Junior Championships. Then a year later she won the singles event at the same tournament again. Over the next five years, Kim continued to win a range of juniors’ titles in both singles and doubles events. In 1998, Clijsters finished her junior season placed world No. 11 in singles and world No. 4 in doubles. She won two junior Grand Slam doubles titles, including the French Open and the US Open. In singles, she also made the Wimbledon final and finished runners-up. In July 1998, at the age of 15, Clijsters won both the singles and doubles events of the ITF Women’s Circuit for her first career professional titles.
One week after turning sixteen, Clijsters entered Wimbledon as the youngest player in the top 200. She finished the 1999 season ranked No. 47 in the world and was named WTA Newcomer of the Year. After a strong season in 2000, Clijsters finally defeated the world No. 1 player (Hingis) in 2001. She made it to the finals of the Australian Open and the French Open. Her match at the French Open was ranked as the greatest French Open women’s final in Open Era history by Tennis.com in a match that lasted 2 hours 21 minutes and consisted of 22 games. She also played her first Gland Slam doubles final at Wimbledon later that year. She finished the season ranked No. 5 in the world for singles and No. 15 in doubles. Within two seasons (on the 11 August 2003), Clijsters rose to world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, becoming the first Belgian to achieve such honours. This was the height of her success.
In total, Clijsters won 41 singles titles and 11 doubles titles on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour. She also won all four Grand Slam tournaments. After several injuries and with a desire to marry and start a family, Clijsters retired from tennis in 2007. But within two years she returned to the sport and won her second US Open title as an unranked player. She went on to defend her title the following year winning the Australian Open enroute to becoming the first mother to be ranked world No. 1. She currently holds the record along with Margaret Court for most Grand Slam singles titles won as a mother – win three such titles. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2017.
14. Wilma Rudolph
Track and Field Athlete (United States): Olympic Bronze Medal (x1), Olympic Gold Medal (x3), All-American Basketball nominee (x1), World Records (x2)
In 1958, while in her senior year, Wilma gave birth to her daughter Yolanda. Wilma would have been around 17 or 18 years old when she first became a mother. Wilma Rudolph was also the 20th child of 22 born to her father Eddie Rudolph (born about 1888). Her mother, Blanche Rudolph (born 9 April 1909), was her father’s second wife. Together they had eight children. Ed had three children older than Blanche so he would have first become a father in his teenage years. It is unclear at what age Blanche first became a mother.
Wilma was born on the 23 June 1940 in Montgomery, Tennessee. She was born prematurely and weighed only four and a half pounds (approx. 2 kgs). From an early age she suffered from multiple illnesses including double pneumonia (twice), scarlet fever, and polio. Polio left her paralysed in one leg and from the age of five she was forced to wear a leg brace. Wilma’s doctor told her that she would never walk again. With constant support from her family, Wilma travelled to a medical college for weekly treatment over the ensuing two-year period. She also received massages from her siblings at least four times per day - those 40-odd hands made a real difference! By the age of six, she was hopping around on one leg and by eight she could move around with her leg supported by the brace. Finally, her brace was removed permanently when Wilma was aged nine.
Within two years she was playing basketball outside and soon developed an aptitude for sports. She excelled in basketball and joined the track team. Rudolph triumphed on the track and was unbeaten in 20 races at 50m, 75m, 100m, 200m and the 4x100m relay.
By the age of 16, Wilma had participated in her first Summer Olympics. Her 4x100m relay team ran a world-record equalling pace and earned a Bronze Medal. Back at school, Wilma showcased her medal to her schoolmates and dreamt of returning to the next Olympics (scheduled for 1960) so she could add a Gold Medal to her collection.
In her senior year, Wilma fell pregnant to her boyfriend, Robert Eldridge (whom she married two years later). Her daughter, Yolanda, was born in 1958, a few weeks before Wilma’s enrolment at Tennessee State University. Robert was forbidden from seeing either Wilma or his daughter initially by Ed Rudolph. Instead, Yolanda was looked after by Wilma’s sister Yvonne in St Louis. Yvonne applied to adopt her when she was five months old, but her parents intervened and took Yolanda home where they cared for her instead. Meanwhile, Wilma attended university majoring in elementary education. Despite a rule that forbid mothers from being on his team, the track coach at the University made an exception for Wilma. Wilma’s coach was appointed to the US Women’s track and field selection team for the 1960 Olympics, but she almost missed selection after a bus driver refused to take her integrated team to the stadium. Fortunately, a replacement driver was found and Wilma managed to qualify for the trials in three sprint events (she ran a world record pace of 22.9s for the 200m).
At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Rudolph won a gold medal for each of her events – 100m, 200m and the 4 x 100m relay. In doing so, she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympiad. She ran the 100m dash in 11.0s, the 200m in 24.0s, and ran the anchor leg of the 4 x 100m to record a team time of 44.5s. After these wins, she was nicknamed “The Black Gazelle” by the Italians, “The Black Pearl” by the French, and was globally hailed as “the fastest woman in history”. She became one of the most highly visible black women across the United States and around the world. Her success caused gender barriers to be broken at previously all-male track and field events and she also boosted integration, with her homecoming parade and banquet being the first fully integrated municipal event in Clarksville’s history. When Wilma retired at age 22, she was still the world record-holder in all three events.
15. Rebeca Andrade
Gymnast (Brazil): World Championship Medals (x9), Olympic Gold medallist (x1), Olympic silver medallist (x1), Pan American Championship medallist (x6).
Rebeca’s mother, Dona Rosa Rodrigues dos Santos (born April 1971), was pregnant aged 19 with Rebeca’s older brother Emerson. Rebeca was the fifth child. Dona Rosa would become a single mother of eight children (two daughters and six sons).
While Rebeca’s accomplishments haven’t yet equalled those of gymnast queens, Simone and Nadia, Rebeca is an outstanding and world-renowned gymnast who many are predicting will become the next gymnastic GOAT. Rebeca kept Simone on her toes at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and at the 2023 Pan American Games Rebeca scored a near-perfect vault score of 9.733 (after executing a seemingly flawless “Cheng”). On the final day of the World Championships, when Rebeca won silver to Simone’s gold in the floor exercise finals, Simone even made a point of symbolically taking the crown from her own head and placing it on Rebeca’s head. Simone was signifying that the time has come, and the torch is being passed on to the upcoming queen of gymnastics – Rebeca. So now we’ve clarified her inclusion, here’s a small snippet of her story...
Rebeca was born on the 8th of May 1999 in the Brazilian city of Guarulhos. Her mother Dona was a single parent, already raising four of Rebeca’s older siblings. Rebeca showed early promise as a gymnast and by nine months of age was regularly found hanging off the bunk bed at home. When she was four, Rebeca was formally introduced to gymnastics by an aunt and immediately fell in love with the sport. Her aptitude for the sport became increasingly evident and despite some serious financial and logistical challenges, Rebeca’s family did everything that could to support her as a gymnast. When they couldn’t afford bus money, her older brothers even walked her to the gym that was two-hours away from their favela (working class neighbourhood) outside São Paulo. They eventually got her a bicycle too. Rebeca was such an outstanding gymnast that by the age of nine she moved abroad (without her family) to train as a high-performance Brazilian athlete.
All the hard work and dedication paid off. Rebeca made history by being the first Brazilian woman to win an Olympic medal in gymnastics (she won both gold and silver medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics) and after winning 9 medals at the World Championships, she has become the greatest Brazilian gymnast of all time. Considering she’s the only gymnast in recent years who has even come close to beating Simone Biles – who Rebeca beat in the vault final at the 2023 World Championships – Rebecca is certainly a name to watch at the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics!
Honourable Mentions:
Haile Gebrselassie
Marathon Runner (Ethiopia): Olympic Gold Medal (x2), World Championships Gold Medal (x4), World Championships Silver Medals (x2), World Championships Bronze Medal (x1), World Indoor Championships (x4), African Championship Medals (x2).
Haile was born on the 18th April, 1973 in Asela, Arsi, Ethiopia. He was the son of two farmers. His father, Ato Gebreselassie Bekele was born in 1935 and his mother Avelech Degtu was born in 1946. Haile was the eighth of ten children. Given that his mother already had eight children before she gave birth to Haile, it is likely that she started her family while in her teens (as was very common in Ethiopia around the time).
Allen Iverson
Basketballer (United States): NBA seasons (x14), NBA Rookie of the Year (x1), NBA All-Star (x11), NBA All-Star MVP (x2).
His mother, Ann Iverson, was 15 years old and his father, Allen Broughton, was around 16 years old when Allen Jr was born. His father played no role in raising him. As a single mother, Ann has been a pillar in Allen’s life and they have developed a close bond – reports say that it is not uncommon for them to speak by phone up to three times a day still. Iverson is regarded as one of basketball’s greatest scorers, ball handlers, guards, and one of the most influential athletes in American sport.
Gwen Berry
Track and field athlete (United States): World record holder for Hammer Throw (x1), National US Champion Hammer Thrower (x3), Gold Medallist at the Pan American Sports Festival (x1), Pan American Games Champion (x1).
Gwen had her son, Derrick, when she was aged 15. Only Gwen’s closest circle were aware of her son, because she said, “I feel like people are more judgmental of mothers than of anything. And that’s one reason why I was really uncomfortable with telling the world that I had a child at the young age because I immediately felt like I was going to be judged. [You] step on the track … they’ll ask you, ‘Why aren’t you with your child?’ ”.
And there you have it, a list of 15 (plus 3 honourable mentions) of the world’s GOAT sporting heroes, all of whom have some personal connection to teen pregnancy or teen parenting. These people and their families may not have taken traditional paths, but they certainly secured their places in history! (Oh, and for anyone who missed the tea on the scandals mentioned in the intro, circle back to the stories of Lionel Messi and Serena Williams.)
Some References:
(Accessed June 2024)
GOAT lists
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/goat#:~:text=%3A%20the%20greatest%20of%20all%20time,category%20of%20performance%20or%20activity
https://www.givemesport.com/greatest-athletes-of-all-time/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2V6BjFgdJ5KcfVHhR3bwBLz/the-greatest-cricketer-of-all-time-your-votes-revealed
https://www.givemesport.com/88095138-pele-ali-maradona-navratilova-the-50-greatest-athletes-of-the-20th-century-ranked/
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/03/sports/tennis/greatest-athlete-of-all-time.html
LeBron James
https://www.today.com/news/lebron-james-his-mother-she-gave-me-strength-2d11929449
https://www.essentiallysports.com/nba-basketball-news-after-becoming-a-father-at-nineteen-years-of-age-lebron-james-fatherly-affection-once-got-wife-savannah-rhapsodical-im-gonna-cry/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBron_James
https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2016/06/why_lebron_james_decided_to_br.html
Michael Jordan
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/deloris-jordan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jordan
https://people.com/sports/all-about-deloris-jordan-james-r-jordan-michael-jordan-parents/
Wayne Gretzky
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Gretzky#:~:text=Wayne%20Douglas%20Gretzky%20was%20born,(Hockin)%20and%20Walter%20Gretzky.
https://www.google.com/search?q=wayne+gretsky+mother&oq=wayne+gretsky+mother+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIMCAEQLhgKGLEDGIAEMgkIAhAAGAoYgAQyCQgDEAAYChiABDIJCAQQABgKGIAEMgkIBRAAGAoYgAQyCQgGEAAYChiABDIJCAcQABgKGIAEMgkICBAAGAoYgATSAQgzNTcwajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Pelé
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pel%C3%A9
https://www.barrons.com/news/pele-s-100-year-old-mother-dona-celeste-01672759209
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/20898131/who-is-peles-mum-how-old-is-she/
Joe Montana
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Montana
https://orderisda.org/culture/sports/joe-montana-was-the-all-time-greatest-super-bowl-quarterback/
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joe-Montana
https://vault.si.com/vault/1990/08/06/born-to-be-a-quarterback-schooled-in-the-fundamentals-from-the-time-he-could-walk-joe-montana-showed-early-that-he-was-a-gifted-passer-and-football-fans-from-monongahela-to-san-francisco-have-marveled-at-his-abilities-ever-since
Lionel Messi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Messi
https://www.essentiallysports.com/soccer-football-news-exploring-lionel-messis-mother-celias-life-journey-who-broke-an-argentine-tradition-during-sons-wedding/
https://people.com/all-about-lionel-messi-parents-8567819
https://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/31/football/lionel-messi-egypt-shoes-insult/index.html
Simone Biles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simone_Biles
https://people.com/sports/all-about-ronald-nellie-biles-simone-biles-parents/
Cristiano Ronaldo
https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/cristiano-ronaldo-parents
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo
https://www.google.com/search?q=cristiano+ronaldo+parents&oq=cristiano+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBggAEEUYOzIGCAAQRRg7Mg0IARAuGIMBGLEDGIAEMgYIAhBFGDkyBwgDEAAYgAQyDQgEEAAYgwEYsQMYgAQyBwgFEAAYgAQyBwgGEAAYgAQyBggHEEUYPNIBCDE5NDFqMGo5qAIAsAIB&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Jessie Owens
https://www.britannica.com/question/What-was-Jesse-Owenss-life-like-before-the-Berlin-Olympics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Owens
Venus & Serena Williams
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracene_Price
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serena_Williams
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_Williams
https://hollywoodlife.com/feature/who-is-oracene-price-4583334/
https://www.today.com/popculture/news/serena-venus-williams-siblings-tennis-stars-sisters-brothers-rcna105107
https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/serena-williams-outburst-2018-us-open-womens-final/story?id=65000510
Nadia Comăneci
https://www.bzi.ro/mama-nadiei-comaneci-in-forma-la-varsta-de-peste-80-de-ani-nimeni-nu-s-ar-fi-asteptat-sa-o-vada-asa-4481306
https://www.libertatea.ro/entertainment/imagine-rara-cu-mama-nadiei-comaneci-doamna-stefania-are-80-de-ani-3765407
https://it-it.facebook.com/NadiaComaneciOfficial/posts/la-multi-ani-mama-%EF%B8%8F/990362074475041/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadia_Com%C4%83neci
Neymar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neymar#Personal_life
https://www.essentiallysports.com/soccer-football-news-how-many-children-does-neymar-jr-have-who-is-the-mother-of-his-kids/
https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/neymar-son
Kim Clijsters
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Clijsters
https://focusonbelgium.be/en/Do%20you%20know%20these%20Belgians/kim-clijsters-exceptional-tennis-smile
Wilma Rudolph
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/wilma-rudolph
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilma_Rudolph
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tennessean-wilmas-moms-funeral/9788934/?locale=en-NZ
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2012/jun/01/50-stunning-olympic-moments-wilma-rudolph
https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/rudolph-wilma-1940-1994/
https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00016444.html
Rebeca Andrade
https://www.essentiallysports.com/us-sports-news-olympics-news-gymnastics-news-watch-amid-rebeca-andrades-vault-celebration-simone-biles-heartwarming-video-with-brazilian-queen-resurfaces/
https://m-folha-uol-com-br.translate.goog/esporte/2015/05/1626994-ginasta-passa-metade-da-vida-longe-da-mae-por-sonho-olimpico.shtml?_x_tr_sl=pt&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
https://www.quintoandar.com.br/guias/rebeca-andrade-quintoandar/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebeca_Andrade
https://olympics.com/en/news/rebeca-andrade-mom-siblings-gymnastics-weekly-update
https://www.uol.com.br/universa/noticias/bbc/2021/07/29/mae-solo-7-filhos-os-desafios-da-mae-de-rebeca-andrade-para-manter-filha-na-ginastica.htm
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/aug/08/i-couldnt-help-but-scream-families-cheer-on-olympians-from-afar
https://remezcla.com/sports/meet-rebeca-andrade-the-brazilian-gymnast-giving-simone-biles-competition/
Haile Gebrselassie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haile_Gebrselassie
https://ethiopiangobgnu.com/blogs/Haile-Gebrselassie:-The-Athlete-Turned-Businessman-Who-Continues-to-Inspire#google_vignette
Allen Iverson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Iverson
https://www.basketballnetwork.net/off-the-court/allen-iversons-mom-revealed-the-shocking-details-of-how-her-son-came-into-the-world
https://aichamber2001.tripod.com/media/muminter.html
Gwen Berry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwen_Berry
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/interactive/2021/olympics-mothers/
Last updated: 22 June 2024