Tom Brady, Simone Biles, Shohei Ohtani among athletes on Time's 100 most influential list

A number of iconic athletes across different sports cracked the Time100 list in which the magazine lists the 100 most influential people in the world.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, U.S. women's gymnasts Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee, women's tennis superstar Naomi Osaka, Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani and women's track and field legend Allyson Felix all made the list.

The collection was separated into subcategories with Osaka and Ohtani making it in under "Icons," Lee under "Pioneers" and Brady, Biles and Felix under "Titans."

To commemorate the figures who landed on the list, Time asked fellow celebrities and icons to pen short essays about what the figures who made the list mean to them.

Brady, 44, is coming off of his 10th Super Bowl appearance and seventh championship and is largely considered one of the greatest players in professional football history.

"When I think about the peak of athletic excellence, it’s hard not to think about Tom Brady," English soccer star David Beckham wrote. "To watch him play is nothing short of inspiring."

Biles, 24, competed in her second Olympics over the summer in the Tokyo 2020 Games and has become an advocate for mental health and has been outspoken against the abuses that female gymnasts had to endure by former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.

"What she embodies truly reflects the endless potential of Black women," women's tennis star Serena Williams wrote of Biles. "I wish I had her to look up to when I was younger and trying to realize my dreams."

Osaka, 23, is one of the world's most recognizable athletes and is the highest-paid female athlete of all-time and, like Biles, has become an advocate for mental health. She has also spoken out against inequalities and arrived at the 2020 U.S. Open wearing seven different face masks, each with the name of a different victim of social injustice.

"We all have the capacity to make a difference," Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson wrote of Osaka. "But sometimes, someone’s sphere of influence is so great, they can change a culture, change a society, change a whole world. Naomi Osaka has the power to do that."

Lee, 18, became a star over the summer when she earned gold in the all-around competition. Lee is the first Hmong American Olympian in history.

Felix, 35, became the most decorated U.S. Olympic track and field athlete over the summer when she earned her 11th career medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She is also an inspiration for mothers after she returned to the track after delivering her baby, Camryn, in November 2018 at 32 weeks after an emergency C-section.

Ohtani, 27, is a Japanese outfielder and pitcher and has 44 home runs this season, currently trailing the MLB's leader, Toronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr., by just one.