Whether because of their successes or their defeats, five Latin American athletes drew the spotlight in 2025.
Lionel Messi: no expiration date
At 38, he once again put the North American league at his feet. He not only gave Inter Miami its first MLS title, but also became the first player to win the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award two years in a row. With the North American World Cup set to kick off in six months, Lionel Messi proves that age is just a number. And few know numbers like he does: he scored 29 goals in 28 league matches in the American competition.
The Argentine star was also the top scorer in South America’s World Cup qualifying, with eight goals. “It was a very special year because of everything we lived through,” said the No. 10 as he received the MVP award. Any lingering questions? His presence at his sixth World Cup, although it seems unlikely he won’t defend the crown, since he will remain active at least until 2028, when his new contract with Inter ends.
Yulimar Rojas: Returning to Stay
“I’m back” could be read on the shoes she wore as she competed at the World Championships in Tokyo in September. The queen of the triple jump, Yulimar Rojas, delivered the most anticipated comeback in Latin American sport after nearly two years out with a left Achilles tendon injury.
The 30-year-old from Caracas won a bronze medal heavy with symbolism and emotion, a consolation after missing the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. In her return to the track, her level was not what it had been before the injury, but her very comeback, complete with a new look, invites optimism heading into 2026.
“There’s plenty of Yulimar Rojas left. This doesn’t end here, and next year I’m going to come back much better, stronger, more prepared, and very hungry to win,” she promised after her reappearance, unable to hold back tears.
Isaac Del Toro: Hunting Pogacar
It wasn’t a Colombian, nor an Ecuadorian. Latin American cycling’s standout figure was born in a place with little connection to steel horses. At just 21 (now 22), Mexican rider Isaac Del Toro challenged the empire of Slovenian Tadej Pogacar by finishing second at the Giro d’Italia in June, a milestone for Mexican sport.
But it wasn’t only on Italian roads, where he also wore the maglia rosa and won the white jersey for best young rider, that he left his mark as cycling’s breakout sensation. “El Torito,” Pogacar’s teammate at UAE, became Mexico’s national champion in both the road race and time trial and earned 18 victories, two fewer than “The Cannibal of Komenda,” in his second season as a professional.
“He has a great future ahead of him, and one day I’ll have to ride for him,” Pogacar warned. Will he debut at the Tour de France in 2026?
João Fonseca: From Promise to Reality
He won his first tour title, jumped from No. 145 to No. 24 in the ATP rankings, and competed for the first time in Grand Slam main draws. Introducing João Fonseca, just 19 years old.
Blessed by legendary Gustavo Kuerten, the young player from Rio stopped being a “prospect” and became the real thing in a tennis world dominated by the Carlos Alcaraz–Jannik Sinner duo. Fonseca, the youngest player in the top 100, won his first tour title in February at the Argentina Open (ATP 250), then won Basel in October (ATP 500).
He also reached the second round in Australia and the US Open, and the third round at Wimbledon and Roland Garros. “Now I’m going to defend points, which is harder. People say, ‘he’s 24th, next year he’ll finish in the top 10 easily,’ but it’s not like that (…), there will be more pressure,” he said in November.
Franco Colapinto: Disappointment in F1
His performance in Formula 1 did not live up to the media buzz Franco Colapinto sparked in Argentina. It’s true he drove the worst car on the grid, Alpine, but the charismatic 22-year-old Argentine failed to score points in the 18 Grands Prix he entered. Near the bottom of the standings, alongside Briton Jack Doohan, whom he replaced starting from the sixth race, Colapinto’s best result was 11th in the Netherlands, and he was clearly outperformed by his teammate Pierre Gasly.
“Maybe it wasn’t the right moment for Franco to be in Formula 1,” Alpine boss Flavio Briatore went so far as to say midway through the season. The only good news of 2025? The season ended and he has a contract to remain in F1 in 2026.
