Famous at 14
• Other notable 14-year-old athletes
By Leila Wai
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Freddy Adu
Birthdate: June 2, 1989 Hometown: Bethesda, Md. High school: Edison Learning Center, Bradenton, Fla. (expected graduation: April) Height: 5-feet-8 What makes him special: Top draft pick by D.C. United of the MLS; highest-paid player in the MLS at $500,000. In the spotlight: On "Late Show with David Letterman" and MTV's "TRL " Life goal: To play in the English Premier League Favorite soccer player: Zinadine Zidane On eBay: 114 items; rookie card $9.99 |
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| Michelle Wie
Birthdate: Oct. 11, 1989 Hometown: Honolulu High school: Punahou (expected graduation: June 2007) Height: 6-foot-0 What makes her special: First female to shoot in 60s in a PGA (men's) event; youngest in a PGA event (January's Sony Open); won the Public Links last year, the youngest winner of an adult USGA event. In the spotlight: On the cover of ESPN magazine; has been featured in magazines such as People and Sports Illustrated. Life goal: To beat Tiger Woods by age 20. Favorite golfers: Tiger Woods and Ernie Els. On eBay: 218 items; rookie card $14.99 • • • Kraft Nabisco Championship Today through Sunday Mission Hills Country Club, Rancho Mirage, Calif. $1.6 million purse TV: Today — Noon to 2 p.m., ESPN2; Tomorrow — Noon to 2 p.m., ESPN2; Saturday — 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., ABC; Sunday — 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., ABC |
But famous ... at 14?
And achieving that status by playing against some of the world's top athletes in your sport?
Welcome to the lives of soccer phenom Freddy Adu and golfing sensation Michelle Wie.
Honolulu's Wie and Adu of Maryland represent the rarest of athletes: those who have become famous by competing at the highest level of sports as 14-year-olds.
"No matter what anyone says, if you're good enough, you're old enough," Adu said in an e-mail comment to The Advertiser arranged by the D.C. United team of the United States professional soccer league.
Adu should know. He is the youngest player on a major U.S. professional team in more than a century.
"I don't feel as though I have a lot of pressure on me," Adu said. "I love soccer and concentrate on just enjoying the game. In the end, I try to just be Freddy."
There have been other young athletes, such as Tara Lipinski in figure skating and Dominique Moceanu in gymnastics. But in their cases, size — or the lack of it — played to their advantage. Their sports also enabled them to compete against athletes similar in age and stature.
Wie and Adu play against adults with years of experience and maturity on their side.
Adu signed a professional contract with D.C. United of Major League Soccer one day after Wie teed off at the Sony Open on Jan. 15. She became the youngest player to play a Professional Golfers Association Tour event and had the lowest score ever by a female competing against men in a PGA event.
Although Wie and Adu live more than 4,800 miles apart, they know of each other's accomplishments.
"I definitely know who Michelle Wie is," Adu said. "She's a great golfer. She's tall. I think it's great that 14-year-olds are seeing Michelle and me achieve our goals. Hopefully, we'll encourage others to follow their dreams too."
Wie's performance at the Sony Open — an even-par 140 — was better than what top-ranked female golfer Annika Sorenstam did at the Colonial in May (5-over 145).
In seven Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour events last year, Wie made the cut six times. At last year's Kraft Nabisco Championship, an LPGA major, Wie played in the final threesome — the group reserved for the leaders. She tied for ninth. At last week's Safeway International in Superstition, Ariz., Wie fired a 5-under-par 67 and finished 19th overall. She also won the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links last year, making her the youngest winner of a USGA event for adults.
Adu was the first pick in the Major League Soccer SuperDraft. In exhibition games, Adu has taken on as many as four defenders — from the MLS — and beaten them. He is a member of both the U.S. Under-17 and Under-20 national teams.
Adu attends the Edison Learning Center in Bradenton, Fla., which is near the U.S. Under-17 national team's full-time residency camp. He will graduate next month with a high school diploma before his first MLS game.
He declined a six-figure deal from European soccer power Inter Milan. Still, in the United States he is the highest-paid player in the MLS at $500,000 this season.
Wie, a Punahou School freshman, plays as an amateur for at least two reasons. First, the LPGA has an age requirement of 18 to be eligible to play on the tour. She is allowed to play in LPGA events under a sponsor's exemption.
Secondly, Wie said she wants to attend Stanford University. To keep her option to play collegiate golf and receive an athletic scholarship, she has to remain an amateur.
Last year, Wie was projected by Business Week to be worth $10 million annually in endorsements if she turned pro, and she turned down more than $69,000 in LPGA earnings in 2003. Last week she would have earned $13,000.
For now, Wie plans to remain an amateur. Adu signed a $1 million contract with Nike last year.
Wie's father, BJ, handles all of her media requests. Adu is represented by the agency SportsNet LLC, and media requests are filtered through D.C. United's media relations office.
Differences aside, both have succeeded in navigating life in the national spotlight.
Wie has been featured in magazines such as People, Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine. She said her advice to Adu, who has been on the "Late Show with David Letterman" and MTV's "TRL," would be to "do whatever he's doing now and enjoy it."
She said being in the spotlight is "pretty easy. Sometimes the photographers want to get your every move, but I think the reporters are fine."
Maybe one day she can tell Adu in person. They have never met, but a love for a certain sport might bring them together.
Soccer fans, don't hold your breath.
"I used to play soccer but I wasn't really talented," Wie said. "I'd try to kick the ball, but mostly I'd just kick other people's shins, not the ball. His golf is probably better than my soccer."
Said Adu: "I do love to play golf. Michelle, call me any day and we'll hang out and do 18."
As far as dating goes, don't count on it. Wie says she won't date anyone shorter than her.
Wie is 6 feet tall; Adu is 5 feet, 8 inches.
Advertiser staff writer Ann Miller contributed to this report.
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Other notable 14-year-old athletes
Jennifer Capriati — Then: Reached the semifinals of the 1990 French Open. Later: Won 2001 Australian Open and French Open, 2002 Australian Open.
Tara Lipinski — Then: Won 1997 World Championship, and National Championship; youngest skater to be ranked No. 1 in the world. Later: Turned pro after taking home gold in 1998 Olympics, the youngest gold medalist in any sport in the history of the Olympic Winter Games.
Dominique Moceanu — Then: Youngest gymnast in U.S. history to capture all-around title at the U.S. Nationals; won a gold medal in the all-around competition at the World Team Trials; part of the first American women's gymnastics team to win the Olympic team gold. Later: Won the 1998 Goodwill Games; coaches at Gymnastics World in Cleveland and attends the University of Akron.
Aileen Riggin Soule — Then: Captured the gold medal in springboard diving in the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, becoming the youngest woman to win a gold medal at the time. Later: Won silver in springboard diving and bronze in 100-meter backstroke at 1924 Olympics; inducted into International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; set age-class record in the 1976 Waikiki Roughwater Swim and numerous world age-class records in pool swimming; appeared in several Hollywood films, including "Roman Scandals" (1933) and "One in a Million" (1936). Died Oct. 17, 2002.
Beth Botsford — Then: Won the 100 backstroke and 400 medley relay at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Later: Attended the University of Arizona, where she was a 12-time first team All-American.
Nadia Comaneci — Then: Romanian gymnast scored a maximum of perfect 10 marks and won three gold, one silver and one bronze medal at the 1976 Olympics. Later: Runs gymnastic school in Norman, Okla., where she lives with her husband, famous American gymnast Bart Connor.
'Over the Hill' Gang
Michelle Kwan: Figure skater won 1996 National Championship at age 15.
Tracy Austin: Youngest tennis player to win U.S. Open at age 16 (1979).
Tiger Woods: Youngest golfer to win the U.S. Junior Amateur at age 15 (1991); Played in his first professional tournament at age 16 (1992).
Famously Infamous
Danny Almonte: Left-handed pitcher led the Rolando Paulino All-Stars, a Little League team from the Bronx, New York, to third place in the 12-and-under Little League World Series in 2001. Pitched a perfect game, but his legacy was spoiled when discovered he was 14, too old to compete.
