El “Gigante de Herradura” won his second laurel as the best male athlete in Latin America and the Caribbean (previously won it in 2021), practically sweeping away the votes cast by 105 media outlets that participated in the Survey.

Mijaín this year became the first athlete in any sport in Olympic history to win the summer title in the same event in five consecutive games, earning 87 media votes, well above the five received by Salvadoran tennis player Marcelo Arévalo.

Durand Elías won in the women’s section with 40 nominations, almost double that of Dominican sprinter Marileidy Paulino and Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade, both with 19 votes.

The Cuban Paralympic athlete closed a dream sporting career, after conquering three Olympic titles in Paris 2024 (100, 200, and 400 meters) and raising to 11 the number of summer titles in her palmares, to which she added 13 golds in Parapan American events and 14 in world championships.

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