体坛英语新闻：Top 10 world athletes in 2017

BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Following are the top 10 world athletes in the year of 2017 selected by Xinhua News Agency:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)

32, football player. Ronaldo was awarded the Best FIFA Men's Player and the Ballon d'Or in 2017. Ronaldo netted twice in the victory against Juventus in the final to finish as UEFA Champions League top scorer with 12 goals, also becoming the first footballer to score in three finals in the Champions League era as well as reaching his 100th goal in the competition. He helped Real Madrid's to win the Champions League for a third time in four seasons.

2. Caeleb Dressel (United States)

21, swimmer. Dressel was named FINA best male athlete of 2017. At the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Dressel became the first swimmer ever to win three gold medals on a single day. Dressel claimed seven gold medals including three individual events, becoming the second swimmer to win seven gold medals at a single World Championships, after Michael Phelps in 2007.

3. Roger Federer (Switzerland)

36, tennis player. Federer kept making records by winning his fifth Australian Open in January 2017. The Swiss later won a record-breaking eighth Wimbledon singles title and record extending 19th overall major title. He became the second man in the Open era to win Wimbledon without dropping a set.

4. Sun Yang (China)

26, swimmer. Sun Yang captured his third straight gold in 400m freestyle at the World Championships in Budapest. He also won the 200m freestyle title by setting an Asian record at Budapest. Sun Yang won the world title in each of the four freestyle events at least once. Sun Yang received the award for Outstanding Contribution to Swimming Popularity in China by FINA.

5. Lewis Hamilton (Britain)

32, Formula One driver. In 2017, Hamilton won his fourth world title at Mexican Grand Prix with two races remaining. Hamilton is now the joint third most decorated F1 drivers with Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel, behind seven-time champion Michael Schumacher and five-time Juan Manuel Fangio.

6. Kevin Durant (United States)

29, basketball player. Durant helped the Golden Warriors to claim his first NBA Championship, and was named the Finals MVP. He was the third player in NBA history to win Finals MVP in his first year with his new team. Durant averaged 30 plus points in the Finals, the first one after Shaquille O'Neal in 2000 to do so.

7. Mutaz Essa Barshim (Qatar)

26, high jumper. Barshim remained undefeated in all 11 competitions he entered during 2017, producing nine of the year's 11 highest jumps. Barshim won at the IAAF World Championships in August and at the IAAF Diamond League final in Zurich, becoming the first jumper to ever leap 2.40m or higher in five successive years.

8. Serena Williams (United States)

36, tennis player. Williams won the Australian Open for the seventh time, an Open Era record, in 2017. It was also her 23rd Grand Slam singles title, one more than Steffi Graf's record.

9. Sarah Sj?str?m (Sweden)

24, swimmer. Sj?str?m was named FINA best female athlete of 2017. At the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Sj?str?m won three golds in 50m freestyle event, 50m and 100m butterfly event. She also broke the 50m and 100m freestyle long-course world records in Buadapest.

10. Marcel Hirscher (Austria)

28, skier. Hirscher became the first male Alpine skier to win a record sixth straight World Cup title in 2017. Hirscher won gold in the giant slalom and slalom, and silver in the combined at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2017 in St. Moritz, Switzerland.