The call to international media to choose the region’s outstanding athletes began in 1964, when Cuban sprinter Enrique Figuerola was the first winner.

In 1980, the Best Team of the Year category was added, and since 1988, the best male and female athletes have been selected separately, thus broadening the scope of the recognition. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt is the most decorated in the Best Male Athlete category, with six awards, followed by the “Prince of the Skies,” Cuban Javier Sotomayor, with five awards.

Legendary Colombian long jumper Caterine Ibarguen and Venezuelan triple jumper Yulimar Rojas each boast five awards, standing out among women as icons of world athletics.

In the Best Team of the Year category, the Brazilian national soccer team leads the contest with nine wins (1994, 1995, 1997, 1997, 2002, 2005, 2009, 2016, and 2017), followed by Argentina’s squad with eight wins, the most recent obtained in the previous edition of the survey.

For six decades, this traditional poll has served as a benchmark for highlighting the excellence of Latin American sport.

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