Page 126 - Grasp English B1+ (Student Book)

10 Era of the Gifted

AMA ZING

ADOLESCENT ATHLETES

Do you want to be the next Pau Gasol or
a football legend, like Peter Crouch?
Follow in the footsteps of these incredible teens
who are on their way to becoming sports stars.

Elijah Fisher
Born in 2005, this rising star of Canadian basketball is incredibly down-
to-earth. He knows it takes hard work to succeed in life and hopes
to be able to join the American NBA in the future, although this
won’t be possible until he finishes school in 2023. His team took home
the trophy in the Toronto league in 2018 and, even though he’s still
growing, he’s taller than many other players. Fisher knows he’s lucky
to be passionate about the sport but his positive attitude also shows
in the advice he gives to other young people: “Do something you
love. There’s nothing like getting up and ready to go and being
completely happy about it.”

Thabang Hlohlo
This South African runner won a gold medal in the national under-
eighteens track and field championship in 2019. Although he wasn’t
in the lead at the start of the one hundred metre race, he finished
in the incredible time of 10.65 seconds. With a personal best of 10.44
seconds, he has a way to go to break Usain Bolt’s world record of
9.58 seconds, but with determination and further training, he may
manage it.

Alina Zagitova
Although she enjoyed drawing as a child, this Russian figure skater
was a natural athlete and first took up skating at four years old. A few
years later, she began training with a professional coach and went
on to become the world champion in 2018. However, she has since
decided to take a break from the sport, saying that she feels less
motivated to compete now.

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