By Vishakha Gupta
Forbes recently published a list of 30 people with towering accomplishments, under the age of 30, in each category like finance, education, sports etc, and called it ’30 under 30’. From that I chose 5, and hence ‘5 under 30’. Here’s a list of those 5 people I personally admire:
1. Maria Sharapova (26)
This young Russian tennis player, currently ranked World No. 3 by WTA, has the world at her feet. Having won 4 Grand Slam singles titles, amongst 29 WTA singles titles, she was the world’s highest-paid female athlete last year. Majority of her earnings come from endorsements, thanks to the pretty face and an athletic body. She recently launched her own candy line called ‘Sugarpova’ which includes 12 different flavours. Sweet!
2. Kevin Wayne Durant (25)
Having recently developed my interest in basketball, I can’t help but be charmed by the players of this sport. From dribbling to dunks to 3-pointers, almost everything about this sport fascinates me. Kevin Durant is an American professional basketball player, who plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder, of the NBA. Durant has won three NBA scoring titles, the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, and an Olympic gold medal. Like others, he also has earned good money from various endorsements. He also starred in his first feature film, Thunderstruck, in 2012.
3. Brittney Griner (23)
Brittney Griner is an American Basketball player and plays for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Being strikingly tall (6 ft, 8 in), she wears a men’s US size 17 shoe. In 2009, Griner was named the nation’s #1 high school women’s basketball player by Rivals.com. Griner was selected to the 2009 McDonald’s All-American basketball team. In 2012 she was granted the Best Female Athlete ESPY Award. But I revere her not for her achievements, but for her audacity to go public on her sexuality. In an interview with SI.com on April 17, 2013, Griner admitted that she is a lesbian. She aspires to work with children and address the issue of bullying, especially in the LGBT community. Hats off to her!
4. Lionel Messi (26)
The list of achievements of this puissant player is never ending. This Argentine football player has been considered the greatest player of all time by many coaches and players. He plays for the Spanish Football Club Barcelona and the Argentina national team, serving as the captain of the national team. Messi is the first football player in history to win four consecutive FIFA/Ballons d’Or,from 2009-2012. He was also the 10th highest paid athlete last year, splitting his earnings almost equally between his winnings/salary and from his endorsements.
5. Andy Murray (26)
Andy Murray, a Scottish professional tennis player, is currently ranked World No. 4. For me, he stands out, not because of the many championships and grand slam titles he has won, but because of that sincerity his eyes so clearly display while playing. Coming back to his achievements, he is the current holder of the Wimbledon Championships singles title, and is the 2012 Olympic tennis men’s singles champion. In 2013, Murray became the 6th man in tennis history to have won over $30,000,000 in career prize money.
We don’t have scarcity of over-achievers in this world, but achieving so much at such an early age does require some real effort. These people come in that category and do manage to inspire the whole wide world.
