New faces and young talent changing the game

At the 2022 US national championship, the rising star, Noah Lyles, ran his best 200m race at 19.31 seconds, and therefore, broke Michael Johnson’s American record set more than 25 years ago, in 1996. And, now, with 6 world titles to his name, he is considered one of the most promising young athletes and one of the fastest men on Earth.


It is clear, then, that new faces are emerging in the world of sports; faces that bring promises of change, evolution, innovation and talent, each in their own branches. These people are reshaping their respective sports through unbelievable skill, fresh perspectives and original approaches.


Noah Lyles is not the only example of this phenomenon. Soccer prodigy, Jude Bellingham, and tennis sensation, Coco Gauff, are also making waves in their sports. This young skill may have originated through a myriad of factors, sluch as better training programs that start at an early age, with a more adequate and updated support system, that will ensure athletes reach their full potential. All this talent is definitely changing the landscape of their respective sports, increasing competition and the basic level of skill required to compete professionally. The standards are shooting upwards, carried by the wings of youth and potential.


So let’s take a closer look at a few examples. Luke Littler is an English professional darts player, who at just 17, is currently the reigning PDC World Youth Champion and the youngest player to ever win a match at international events, such as the World Darts Championship. With his supportive family and love for the sport since a kid, he got the chance to beat his sporting idol, Raymon Barneveld, and succeeded! He is known for experimenting with his technique, changing up his speed and motion in different events to explore best and more efficient opportunities to win. This innovation is challenging existing norms of strategy within the darts community and raising many questions about how the game should be played or perceived in modern days.


Another excellent example is the 26 year old Japanese tennis player, Naomi Osaka. She became the first Asian player to reach the top of the Women’s Tennis Association world rankings. Not only that, but she also is the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam singles title. On the court, Osaka is known for her uniquely aggressive style with a powerful serve that can reach 201 km/h! This young talent is also responsible for reshaping the world of her sport. Osaka has often refused to participate in her media assignments, citing concern for her mental health. Her decisions sparked a wider debate about player’s mental welfare and their obligations to the public, widely impacting her community and starting important conversations to an international degree.

​We can say that these young athletes are definitely attracting new audiences and engaging fans differently, through social media for example. The excitement and innovation that accompanies their names brings many market trends in their sports, from a fashion aspect, or even by motivating a wave of new athletes to follow their footsteps. Their continued rise will keep impacting the world of sports marketing and fan engagement, by helping them to always keep their strategies up to date with the newer generations, as a way to not lose interest or specific audiences.


Of course, there are also some downsides to this rapid and early rise to glory. Many athletes, such as the mentioned Naomi Osaka, have had to deal with tremendous amounts of pressure from sponsors, fans and even from her own expectations of success. People love to see new faces in sports, and the excitement comes with a great deal of expectation that the athletes have to live up to. They expect these early-bloomers to maintain their performance consistent and are disappointed when there are setbacks. All this can cause incredible levels of media scrutiny to flood athlete’s lives, shattering all the barriers between their professional and personal lives in a wave of negativity. 


However, for many of these talents, all this negativity can light a spark for personal and professional growth that will assist the athletes in keeping their reign in their sport for a long time, or even motivate them to learn how to better manage balance in their lives and prioritize their mental health. 


Obviously, having a good support system, role models, mentors and idols in sport, that have gotten through similar situations, can hugely speed up this growth process, allowing positivity, love and glory to lead their lives and outshine all the difficulties along the way. The journey to get to the top of the sports world may be hard, but the view at the top is priceless.


Therefore, we can conclude that with all the work the newest generation of athletes are putting into their respective sports and with all the innovation and change they are bringing with them, we all can expect a spectacular future, full of shifts in practices and evolution in technique to potentialize performance. So the question it is left for us to ask is: who will be the next sports star in a couple of years that is currently just starting their jaw-dropping career?