The US magazine TIME's website recently released its 2026 list of the 100 most influential sports figures, with Chinese athletes Sun Yingsha and Eileen Gu making the cut.
Sun Yingsha is the only table tennis player on the list, featured in the "Pioneers" category. TIME describes her as "the current benchmark figure in the world of table tennis." At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Sun Yingsha helped China win the women's team gold medal, while also securing a mixed doubles gold and a women's singles silver. In 2026, she won the singles World Cup title, becoming the first player in history to achieve three consecutive women's World Cup singles titles. The 25-year-old Sun has now spent over 200 weeks ranked world No. 1, setting a record in the modern points-era rankings.
Freestyle skier Eileen Gu appears in the "Icons" category of the list. TIME describes her as the only extreme sports athlete to win three medals at two different Winter Olympics – the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics.
The list features many well-known athletes, including football stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, basketball stars LeBron James and Victor Wembanyama, tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, Formula 1 driver Lando Norris, and track and field star Faith Kipyegon, among others.
This is reportedly the first time TIME has released a list of the 100 most influential sports figures.
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