New York, New York - Time magazine released its annual list of 100 Most Influential People on Monday, and a number of notable athletes earned a spot among this year's prestigious trailblazers.

Each year, Time magazine assembles a list of the 100 most influential people around this world.

This year, a number of extraordinary athletes made the cut for their achievements, contributions, and impact on changing sports, society, and the world around us.

Divided into the four categories – Artist, Titans, Icons, and Pioneers – and chosen by a distinguished board, here are the key players who made this year's 100 Most Influential People:

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• US Olympic Champion figure skater Nathan Chen, who took home Olympic gold in Beijing in February.
  
  
• US Soccer players Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn, Alex Morgan, and the US Women’s soccer team, who won victory this month in equalizing gender compensation for the first time in history.
  
  
• Rafael Nadal, who, after winning the Australian Open, became the first man to collect 21 Grand Slam titles.
  
  
• Peng Shuai, who raised concerns with her story about overcoming sexual assault from a top Chinese Government Official, despite facing societal and government backlash.
  
  
• Two-time Olympic Champion Candace Parker, who this year became the oldest women's basketball player to record a triple-double, and the first to have achieved the record twice in a regular season.
  
  
• Olympic Champion skier Eileen Gu, who in February became the first freestyle skier to win three medals at a single Winter Olympics.
  

As some of sports' biggest names, each athlete was honored by their fellow peers through a written excerpt of praise in the issue. They joined icons in pop culture, music, activism, and politics on 2022's list.