Olympians Alysa Liu, Noah Lyles, Hilary Knight, Chloe Kim and Scottie Scheffler were among those named to Time’s 100 Most Influential list for 2026 on Wednesday (15 April), underlining the impact of their success on the global stage.
Those named to the list are generally chosen for a variety of factors, including cultural relevance, social impact, overall leadership and athletic success.
Wednesday’s reveal continued a long-running trend of Olympians being named to the annual slate of buzzy artists, titans, innovators, icons, leaders and pioneers.
Influential guest authors were invited to pen remarks about the nominees, with all five Olympians receiving tributes from notable authors.
Comedian Bowen Yang gushed over the causal nature of Alysa Liu’s brilliance on the ice at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026: “Watching her from the stands in Milan, I felt so many inherited knots of expectation loosening: filial piety, social pressure, un-striped hair.”
“That’s what great artists do,” he opined. “They make you reconsider what you’ve been carrying, and invite you to join them in being light on their feet.”
U.S. Olympic gymnastics champion Sunisa Lee paid double Olympic snowboarding champion Chloe Kim a similar compliment in her tribute to the silver medallist from Milano Cortina 2026.
“Any athlete who has competed at the highest level knows how much work goes into moments that look effortless from the outside,” she wrote. “What I love about Chloe is that she doesn’t pretend it’s easy.
“She embraces the grind of Olympic snowboarding and still brings so much style, confidence, and personality to everything she does.”
Likewise, fashion designer Willy Chavarria highlighted the sense of burning individuality that Paris 2024 Olympic champion Noah Lyles has pioneered in athletics.
“He’s not simply running races, he’s shifting perception,” wrote the fashion icon. “He brings together style, discipline, and emotion in a way that feels powerful and necessary, and that’s incredibly inspiring to witness.”
And then, there was Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai’s analysis of what makes ice hockey Hilary Knight truly special.
“She shows up, she fights for what matters, and when the moment comes, she is ready,” wrote the advocate for women’s education, referencing Knight’s game-altering goal in the gold medal match between Canada and the United States.
“For female athletes, playing a sport is more than competition—it’s a statement. With every game, the players are proving that women’s sports are an economy, a culture, a force.”
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/alysa-liu-hilary-knight-noah-lyles-time-100-most-influential-2026
