April 13, (THEWILL) – TIME magazine has revealed its annual list of the 100 most influential people and six sports stars made the cut.
Football icons, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe; tennis sensation, Iga Swiatek; alpine skier, Mikaela Shiffrin; WNBA star, Brittney Griner; and NFL quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, were all named on the prestigious list.
Messi, regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, led Argentina to World Cup glory in 2022, while Mbappe scored a hat-trick in the final even though France lost their title. Swiatek has been the WTA world number one for over a year and won both the French Open and US Open in 2022.
TIME magazine asked other famous people or teammates to write a paragraph about those on the list, and tennis star, Roger Federer, wrote about the importance of Messi. Federer wrote that athletes carry a lot of weight and that for footballers like Messi, who represents a world-renowned club and a passionate country, that weight is even greater. He added that even non-football fans could recognise the true impact of the world’s most popular game.
Meanwhile, Vivienne Walt wrote about Mbappe, saying that despite his incredible celebrity, he remains grounded, thanks to the home truths from his mother, “respect, humility, and lucidity.” Shiffrin, who broke the women’s World Cup record for alpine skiing, was full of praise for her friend, Swiatek, saying that she embodies the confidence of action over mere talk.
Griner, the WNBA star, has been an advocate for transgender rights and the LGBTQ+ community and has raised awareness of Americans wrongly detained across the world. Finally, Mahomes has become the face of the NFL and started the “15 and the Mahomies” foundation, which has provided over $2.5 million in charitable grants and more than 136,000 meals to 101 different organisations.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
