Peng Shuai and Rafael Nadal highlight athletes on the 100 most influential list
Peng Shuai and Rafael Nadal highlight athletes on the 100 most influential list
Editor’s note: This story contains accounts of sexual assault. If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or at https://www.rainn.org.
Weather magazine published its annual list of 100 most influential people Monday and a number of athletes secured a spot in the coveted number.
Among those named to the latest edition of Time100 are tennis players Peng Shuai and Rafael Nadal, 2022 Olympic stars Nathan Chen and Eileen Gu, US national footballers Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn and Alex Morgan and football icon WNBA Candace Parker.
Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai has been included in the magazine’s “Icons” section after accusing former vice premier Zhang Gaoli of forcing her to have sex. She then disappeared from the public eye, leading to widespread calls for her safety and a US diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Peng reappeared at the same Olympics, but her name remains censored on the Chinese internet at the time. ‘actual hour.
“Peng was undoubtedly aware from the outset of the dangers inherent in speaking out,” activist and writer Lü Pin wrote in Time. “In the now-deleted post, she described her actions as a moth to a flame, an egg to a stone, and self-destruction. Her story catapulted an unprecedented defense of women’s rights against authoritarian power. Her subsequent denial of her initial claims suggests that she has yet to regain her full autonomy – and may in fact suffer unspeakable cruelty.
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Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal made history in 2022 when he won his 21st Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open. In an era filled with dominant male tennis players, the 35-year-old is the only player with the most Grand Slam victories in history by a male player.
“I admire athletes who push their limits, and I’m absolutely inspired every time Rafa steps onto the court,” said seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady. wrote about Nadal in the magazine. “There’s something to be learned by watching his determination, his strategy, whatever it takes to ensure that he never takes a moment for granted. He will forever be remembered as one of the greatest athletes of all. the sports. “
Rapinoe, Sauerbrunn and Morgan have made many on-court contributions for the USWNT, but in 2022 their most significant achievement came in the fight for equality. The three national team leaders, alongside countless American women’s soccer players and defenders, have been awarded a $24 million settlement with US Soccer, as well as a new collective agreement which guarantees equal pay and prize money.
“More than 50 years after the Original Nine of women’s professional tennis signed token $1 contracts and forever changed the history of the sport, the battle for pay equity in sports continues – and the baton has passed. …” former tennis star and gender equality advocate Billie Jean King wrote in Time. “These women have come forward and spoken out. When they weren’t recognized for their achievements and weren’t paid equally to the men’s team, they vowed to drag football to the right side of history.
Chen, who became Olympic champion last winter in Beijing, was profiled by fellow Chinese-American skating star Michelle Kwan. Gu, a Chinese freestyle skier who won three medals at the 2022 Olympics, was presented by the Olympic skier and 2014 silver medalist Gus Kenworthy. Parker, two-time WNBA MVP and women’s activist, was profiled by the three-time NBA champion Dwayne Wade.
The print issue of Time’s “100 Most Influential People of 2022” is on newsstands Friday.
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