Athletes on Time magazine’s 2026 list of 100 most influential icons

MORE: Olympic champ Alysa Liu praises Taylor Swift at iHeartRadio Music Awards The final results are decided following a debate among American academics, politicians, and journalists. Time magazine Editor in Chief Sam Jacobs : “Since I became editor three years ago, we’ve been dedicated to bringing that community together around the world, which we will do again with the TIME100 Summit and TIME100 Gala in New York City later this month. Then, in June, we’ll release the inaugural TIME100 Sports list.

This year has been dominated by two global sporting events, the Olympics and the World Cup, that underline how the business of sports and those who lead it are changing culture in unprecedented ways. ” The Time magazine 100 Sports list will be fascinating. In his letter to readers, Jacobs adds, “There is no single metric that defines influence.

Our selections are led by the stories that are shaping the world each year and the people who write them. Some are well known to many, others only within their fields…Few people, we suspect, will be familiar with all 100 individuals. We believe that is part of the appeal of the TIME100, now well into its third decade, and the reason it has endured.

In recent years, we’ve been busy growing the TIME100 community by focusing on the areas we believe shape the future—including AI, Climate, Health, and Philanthropy, as well as emerging fields in which individuals, such as digital creators, are playing an outsize role…. we are eager to see which of the individuals in this issue will still be wielding influence more than 50 years from today. ” Let’s look at the six athletes who made this year’s list.