Luke Littler has been named the third most searched determine on Google within the UK, forward of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and King Charles.
Littler is getting ready for the upcoming World Darts Championship Reside broadcast this Sunday at 6:30pm sky sports activitiesbehind solely searches for Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, and US President-elect Donald Trump.
The 17-year-old got here to consideration 12 months in the past when he reached the World Championship remaining, shedding to Luke Humphries.
January’s remaining was watched by 4.8 million folks sky sports activitiesthe very best non-football attendance ever.
Littler tops the record of Britain’s most searched athletes this 12 months, forward of Spanish teenage star Lamine Yamal, who helped Spain win Euro 2024, and who received three gold medals on the 2024 Paris Olympics. Gold medal-winning gymnast Simone Biles.
“It’s an enormous honor to be acknowledged on two annual trending lists,” Littler mentioned.
“It has been an incredible 12 months for me personally and for the game of darts as an entire. I am unable to imagine I am trending larger than each the Prime Minister and the King within the ‘Individuals’ class.
“In a 12 months of such nice sporting achievement, being named the most well liked athlete of 2024 is a proud second for me.”
Earlier this 12 months Little grew to become the youngest participant to compete in a televised nine-darts occasion on the Bahrain Darts Masters, the place he received his first senior PDC title.
He featured within the 17-week Premier League sequence and joined one other nine-darter within the London play-off night time win within the remaining in Could.
After profitable the Polish Darts Masters, Littler’s kind declined, with first-round exits on the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix, however he received the Grand Slam of Darts and the World Darts Collection remaining in November.
Boxer Khalif is the world’s most searched athlete
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has turn into essentially the most Google-searched athlete on the earth this 12 months amid controversy over his Olympic {qualifications}.
Khalif and Taiwanese participant Lin Yuting have been accused of failing a gender take a look at in 2023, though no proof was or has been supplied to help the accusation.
Some incorrect headlines recommended the 2 boxers have been transgender athletes – despite the fact that each have been born feminine and have been categorised as feminine on their passports. Nonetheless, the row sparked controversy and introduced into the highlight debates over eligibility and the classification of girls.
Khalif received gold within the girls’s welterweight contest in Paris, sparking controversy after the Worldwide Boxing Affiliation (IBA) mentioned the Algerian was disqualified from final 12 months’s world championships as a result of she didn’t meet gender eligibility standards.
The 25-year-old has lodged a authorized criticism with French authorities over the net abuse and harassment she suffered in the course of the Olympics, and the IOC mentioned in early November that she was additionally now taking motion in response to new studies rising in France. Her leaked medical data have been detailed.
It additionally mentioned it was “saddened” by the ill-treatment Khalif had obtained since his look in Paris.