Top Ten Teen Athletes 2006

From Sharapova to Sheckler, Kidzworld looks at the world's top teen athletes. Check out our picks right here.

Top Teen Athletes - Freddy Adu

Freddy Adu has been playing pro soccer for DC United of Major League Soccer for the past three years. The 17 year-old has become one of the league's most exciting players and in January 2006, Adu became the youngest player to play for the US National Team. His popularity has led to a million-dollar endorsement deal from Nike and the chance to date fellow teen celebrity JoJo.

Top Teen Athletes - Sidney Crosby

Sidney Crosby has certainly lived up to the hype which surrounded the teen hockey star when he entered the National Hockey League in 2005. In his rookie season, the 18 year-old winger led the Pittsburgh Penguins in scoring and became an instant star in the NHL. Crosby is expected to become the team's youngest ever captain in 2006 and should be a hockey superstar for years to come.

Top Teen Athletes - Dallas Friday

Dallas Friday already has four gold medals from the X Games on her trophy shelf and the wakeboarding sensation is just 19. Friday is the undisputed Queen of the Wakeboarding World and has pushed the sport to new levels with mind-blowing aerials and a wide arsenal of sick tricks. Friday doesn't have any plans on slowing down and hopes to break Dave Mirra's record for total medals won at the X Games.

Top Teen Athletes - Kimmie Meissner

Kimmie Meissner stepped out of the shadow of fellow American, Sasha Cohen, by winning the 2006 World Figure Skating Championships at the age of 16. Meissner won the gold while competing at the World Championships for the first time and had the figure skating world saying, "Sasha who?". Meissner also placed sixth at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy and was nominated for an ESPY award as Breakthrough Athlete of the Year.

Top Teen Athletes - Park Tae-hwan

Park Tae-hwan may not exactly be a household name in North America but the Korean is a rising swimming star. The 16 year-old won a gold in the 400-meter freestyle at the 2006 Pan Pacific Championships, making him the first Korean swimmer to win a gold in any international event. Park competed for Korea at 2004 Olympics when he was just 14 and will be a gold-medal favorite at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

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