How Old Does An Athlete

HOW OLD DOES AN ATHLETE have to be to be considered the greatest of all time in his or her sport? Does 16 sound too young? But that’s exactly how old Dallas Friday was at the 2003 X Games Wakeboarding competition. Experts already considered Friday the best women’s rider of all time, and she proved it again by taking home her second freestyle gold.

The teenager locked up the victory with possibly the cleanest run in X Games history. She combined an air rally, frontside front roll, and a tantrum off the kicker jump to take first. Melissa Marquardt finished second with Emily Copeland earning third.

On the men’s side, Danny Harf thrilled the packed crowd at Long Beach Marine Stadium in California by winning his third-straight X Games men’s title. Harf’s 93.7-point run was highlighted by a perfect 900 combined with a whirlybird 720 off the double-up jump. Parks Bonifay claimed second with 81.1 points, and Daniel Watkins earned third—a point behind Bonifay.

Even with the men pulling big-time moves, the first X Games wakeboarding event held in California truly belonged to the ladies.

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POINT What would it feel like to be called the greatest female wakeboarder of all time with so much of your life ahead of you? Kind of overwhelming, huh? But if you look around, you’ll see a lot of teenagers who are among the world’s best at their sport. Child prodigies come from around the globe. You see gymnasts, ice skaters, soccer players, and skateboarders claim big-time prizes before they’re out of braces. Golfer Tiger Woods first appeared on television when he was three.

Not surprisingly, the Bible tells us that Jesus was a child prodigy. When he visited the temple in Jerusalem as a child, he amazed everybody with his knowledge about God’s Word.

GOAL! What would you like to be known for? Your goal-scoring ability in soccer? Your speed on the ice? Your bone-crunching tackles? Your gracefulness on the court? How about your knowledge of God’s Word?