Naomi Osaka, Shohei Ohtani headline athletes on Time’s 100 most influential
- Six sports stars named including Tokyo 2020 champion Sunisa Lee and decorated Olympian Alyson Felix
- US gymnast Simone Biles and NFL legend Tom Brady also on the list along with Tokyo 2020 architect Kengo Kuma
Japanese superstars Naomi Osaka and Shohei Ohtani have been named to Time magazine’s list of “the 100 most influential people of 2021” among six athletes to make the cut in the annual list.
Osaka has been praised for speaking about mental health as well as activism for other causes, including Black Lives Matter. The 23-year-old makes her third appearance in a row while MLB’s two-way All-Star Ohtani is making his first appearance.
The 27-year-old reportedly becomes only the second baseball player to make the list after the New York Yankees pitcher Wang Chien-ming of Taiwan in 2007.
Osaka and Ohtani were included in the “Icons” section of the list along with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
This year’s Time list also included Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, the designer of the Tokyo Olympic Stadium, in the list of “Innovators”.
Kuma was among several names with links to the Summer Games, including US Olympic gymnast Sunisa Lee.
Hmong-American gymnast Sunisa Lee’s Olympic dream comes true
The 18-year-old, who won gold in the all-around, became the first Hmong-American to represent the US at an Olympics in Tokyo this summer.
Lee was named in the “Pioneers” section.
Like Osaka, who withdrew from the French Open earlier this year and has said that she will take a break from tennis after the recent US Open, Biles pulled out of a number of events in Tokyo this summer over concerns for her mental health.
The athlete contingent on this year’s list was rounded out by Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
