大象传媒

Hot on the heels of the youngest male to win Olympic gold, today we have the youngest female to win Olympic gold, the youngest known medallists and one that nobody is 100% sure about.

America's Marjorie Gestring was just 13 years and 268 days, when she became the Olympics' youngest individual gold medallist at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

And like Britain's diving prodigy Tom Daley, Gestring was a specialist in the art of mixing pikes, twists and somersaults.

Gestring won the 3m springboard event, but was denied the opportunity to defend her title when the outbreak of World War II caused the postponement of the 1940 and 44 Olympics.

She did return for the 1948 London Games, but by then her talent had faded.

Meanwhile, back at the Berlin Games, Denmark's Inge Sorensen finished third in the 200m breaststroke at the age of just 12 years and 24 days, making her the youngest Olympic medallist in history.

There are of the winning Dutch coxed pairs boat at the 1900 Olympics ditching their cox for being too heavy and recruiting an anonymous French boy, aged seven, although this has not been verified.

And unless the name of the mystery French lad can be uncovered, Gestring will hold on to her title as the youngest gold medallist as athletes now have to be 14 to compete on the Olympic stage.