Among the top 100 are three members of the sports world: United States women’s soccer star Abby Wambach, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and professional surfer Gabriel Medina.
Wambach is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and was named the 2012 FIFA Women’s Player of the Year. She is one of the most accomplished female athletes in American soccer history and is also highly involved in the awareness efforts of the LGBT community. Her TIME 100 excerpt was written by fellow soccer icon Mia Hamm:
Adam Silver has been the NBA Commissioner for less than two years, but has cemented himself as the next great basketball visionary. The leadership he showed in the wake of the Donald Sterling controversy showed the players, owners, and NBA fans that the organization was in the right hands. His TIME 100 excerpt was written by NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar:
The third entrant from the sports world is Brazilian surfer and budding action sports icon Gabriel Medina. The 21-year-old is quickly becoming the face of the sport, taking over the mantel left by greats Kelly Slater and Laird Hamilton. TIME senior writer Sean Gregory provided Medina’s excerpt:
Last year’s list featured four members of the sports world: women’s tennis icon Serena Williams, openly gay NBA player Jason Collins, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman and female golfer Lydia Ko.
