BEIJING, Dec. 26-- Following are the top 10 world athletes in the year of 2017 selected by Xinhua News Agency: 1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) 32, football player. Ronaldo was awarded the Best FIFA Men's Player and the Ballon d'Or in 2017. Ronaldo netted twice in the victory against Juventus in the final to finish as UEFA Champions League top scorer with 12 goals, also becoming the first footballer to score in three finals in the Champions League era as well as reaching his 100th goal in the competition. He helped Real Madrid's to win the Champions League for a third time in four seasons. 2. Caeleb Dressel (United States) 21, swimmer. Dressel was named FINA best male athlete of 2017. At the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Dressel became the first swimmer ever to win three gold medals on a single day. Dressel claimed seven gold medals including three individual events, becoming the second swimmer to win seven gold medals at a single World Championships, after Michael Phelps in 2007. 3. Roger Federer (Switzerland) 36, tennis player. Federer kept making records by winning his fifth Australian Open in January 2017. The Swiss later won a record-breaking eighth Wimbledon singles title and record extending 19th overall major title. He became the second man in the Open era to win Wimbledon without dropping a set. 4. Sun Yang (China) 26, swimmer. Sun Yang captured his third straight gold in 400m freestyle at the World Championships in Budapest. He also won the 200m freestyle title by setting an Asian record at Budapest. Sun Yang won the world title in each of the four freestyle events at least once. Sun Yang received the award for Outstanding Contribution to Swimming Popularity in China by FINA. |