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Black Ferns great Portia Woodman-Wickliffe has been named in Time magazine’s inaugural list of the 100 most influential people in sport.
The 34-year-old has been included in the ‘‘Icons’’ category of the list alongside the likes of NBA star LeBron James, Argentina football star Lionel Messi, world men’s tennis No 1 Jannik Sinner, Formula 1 champion Lando Norris, Los Angeles Dodgers baseballer Shohei Ohtani, WNBA star Caitlin Clark and skiier Mikaela Shiffrin.
Woodman-Wickliffe retired after leading the Black Ferns Sevens to a second gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but came out of retirement to help New Zealand try to win a third consecutive Rugby World Cup.
The Black Ferns lost to Canada in the semifinals in England, but Woodman-Wickliffe added to her legacy by becoming the all-time leading try-scorer in New Zealand rugby history — men’s or women’s.
The winger’s 50th international try broke the record held by former All Blacks winger Doug Howlett.
A two-time World Rugby women’s player of the year, the 34-year-old Woodman-Wickliffe announced her second retirement in February.
‘‘As I step into this next chapter of my life, I feel both excited and a little nervous, but I’m ready,’’ she said at the time.
The other categories in the Time list were ‘‘Titans’’, ‘‘Innovators’’ and ‘‘Leaders’’.
Some of the Titans included rising NBA star Victor Wembanyama, Masters golf champion Rory McIlroy, Portuguese football great Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester City star Erling Haaland, American football stalwart Alex Morgan and Thai golfer Jeeno Thitikul.
Innovators featured skiing immortal Lindsey Vonn and Knicks basketball talisman Jalen Brunson, while Leaders included basketball megastar Steph Curry, Formula 1 sensation Kimi Antonelli and Fifa boss Gianni Infantino. — RNZ/Allied Media