Whether through success or defeat, five Latin American athletes caused a stir in 2025.
At the age of 38, he once again placed the North American league at his feet. Not only did he bring Inter Miami their first MLS title, but he also became the first player to win the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award twice in a row. Six months before the start of the World Cup in North America, Lionel Messi is proving that age is just a number. And few know numbers like him, who scored 29 goals in 28 days in Major League Soccer.
The Argentine star was also the top scorer in South American World Cup qualifying with eight goals. “It was a very special year because of everything we experienced,” said Diez when receiving the MVP award.
Have you left any questions? While his presence at his sixth World Cup event is unlikely, he will not be able to defend the crown as he will remain active at least until 2028, when his new contract with Inter Miami, owned by brothers Jorge and José Mas and David Beckham, ends.
“I’m back” was written on the shoes with which he competed at the World Championships in Tokyo in September. Triple jump queen Yulimar Rojas starred in Latin American sport’s highly anticipated return after a nearly two-year layoff due to an injury to her left Achilles tendon.
The 30-year-old Venezuelan native of Caracas won a bronze medal full of symbolism and emotion, a consolation after missing the 2024 Paris Olympics. When she returned to the slopes, her level was not as high as before the injury, but her easy return – including a new look – inspires optimism for 2026.
“There is Yulimar Rojas for a while, it doesn’t stop here and next year I will come back much better, stronger, more prepared and very hungry to win,” she promised after her revival, unable to hold back her tears. It remains to be seen how big the qualitative leap can be by 2026.
It was neither Colombian nor Ecuadorian. The figure of Latin American cycling was born in a country where there was little connection with steel horses. At just 21 years old – he’s now 22 – Mexican Isaac Del Toro challenged Slovenian Tadej Pogacar’s empire by finishing second in the Giro d’Italia in June, a milestone for Mexican sport.
But he left his mark as a cycling sensation not only on the streets of Italy, where he also wore the pink jersey and won the white jersey as the best young rider. El Torito, Pogacar’s teammate in the United Arab Emirates, was crowned Mexican road and time trial champion, earning 18 wins in his second season as a pro, two fewer than El Caníbal de Komenda.
“He has a big future ahead of him and one day I will have to film for him,” warned Pogacar. Will it debut at the Tour de France in 2026?
He won his first tour title, improved from 145th to 24th in the ATP and took part in the Grand Slam main rounds for the first time. This is the tennis player João Fonseca, just 19 years old.
Blessed by the legendary Gustavo Kuerten, the young man from Rio was no longer a promise but became a reality in a tennis dominated by the Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner duo.
Fonseca, the youngest in the top 100, won his first title on the circuit, the Argentine Open (ATP 250), in February and won the Basel title (ATP 500) in October. He also reached the second round in Australia and the US Open and the third at Wimbledon and Roland Garros.
“Now I’ll defend the points, which is more difficult. People say: ‘He’s 24th, next year he’ll easily be in the top 10’, but that’s not the case (…), the pressure will be greater,” he said in November.
The appearance in Formula 1 was no match for the media hype that Franco Colapinto caused in Argentina. Although he drove the worst car on the grid, the Alpine, the charismatic 22-year-old Argentinean failed to score any points in the 18 Grands Prix in which he took part.
At the end of the ranking, Colapinto achieved the best result with eleventh place in the Netherlands together with the British Jack Doohan, whom he represented from the sixth race onwards, and was surpassed several times by his teammate Pierre Gasly.
“Maybe it wasn’t the right time for Franco to be in Formula 1,” said Alpine boss Flavio Briatore even halfway through the course, although they later doubled their confidence. The only good news of 2025? The end of the season and the continuation of his contract in Formula 1 in 2026.
AFP Agency
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