TIME100 influential people: Shiffrin, Messi, and more Olympians named to annual list for 2023
American skier Mikaela Shiffrin gets the nod after her record breaking year, with fellow Olympians Leo Messi, Yusra Mardini, and more being honoured. See all the Olympians here.
"The sky’s the limit for her."
Those are the words from skiing legend Lindsey Vonn about her fellow American and record-breaker Mikaela Shiffrin in Vonn's essay about Shiffrin for the TIME100 "Most Influential People of 2023" list.
Shiffrin highlights the list, revealed on Thursday (13 April), which includes a host of other Olympians: Footballer Lionel Messi; basketball star Brittney Griner; tennis champion Iga Swiatek; and a two-time member of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team, Yusra Mardini.
You can see the full list here.
Shiffrin's selection comes on the heels of her historic season, in which she broke the all-time record for FIS World Cup wins in alpine skiing, blazing to her 87th last month (and adding No.88 thereafter) - surpassing Ingemar Stenmark’s record, which had stood since 1989.
"With Serena Williams stepping away from tennis, there’s room for another big female global sports superstar, and Mikaela can fill that opportunity," writes Vonn. "She’s really stepped into the spotlight and done a great job moving the needle for our sport."
Shiffrin responded to her inclusion by thanking her team for their support, saying in an Instagram post: "This honor is as much yours as it is my own…and I’ll celebrate you all."
TIME100 list: Swiatek, Messi, Mardini and Griner, too
Shiffrin makes another appearance on the list, writing the Time Magazine feature about Swiatek - who she's developed a friendship with from afar - describing the three-time Grand Slam champion and women's world No. 1 as someone who "strives relentlessly to improve her game."
Messi, the legendary footballer, led Argentina's men to the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup title a few months ago, and is an Olympic gold medallist from Beijing 2008. Another GOAT, Roger Federer, wrote the Messi essay:
"My career has just come to an end. I now realize how much weight we athletes carry... For a football player like Messi, that weight likely feels more massive, as he represents both a world-renowned club and a very passionate country. Argentina’s World Cup victory was magnificent. Millions of fans’ taking to the streets of Buenos Aires to celebrate was an amazing moment in sports, witnessed around the world."
Two-time Olympic gold medallist Griner, who was detained in Russia for nearly a year, is written about by teammate and fellow Olympic champion Sue Bird. The essay about Mardini and her sister, Sara, is penned by actress Cate Blanchett.
The Mardini sisters fled Syria in 2015, eventually making their way from Turkey to Greece in dangerous waters by boat. Yusra Mardini returned to the water in 2016 - but in a much different capacity: As part of the IOC's first-ever Refugee Olympic Team, swimming at Rio 2016.