The triathlete Mario Mola among the 25 most influential athletes in Spain

The Marqués de Oliva Foundation in collaboration with MERCA2 publishes each year the “Study of the 500 Most Influential Spaniards”. It is about 14 categories and 500 people.

Mario Mola three times Triathlon World Champion occupies the 18 position of the list where you can find tennis players, footballers, F1 pilots and other sports.

25 most influential athletes in Spain

1- Rafael Nadal (Islas Baleares, 1986) Spanish professional tennis player considered one of the best tennis players in history and the best of all time on clay courts.

2- Pau Gasol (Catalonia, 1980) Pau Gasol Sáez is a professional Spanish basketball player. Currently belongs to the staff of the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA.

3- María José Rienda Contreras (President of the Higher Sports Council) (Andalusia, 1975) She is the first woman to become president of the CSD, with extensive experience as an athlete in top-level competition and in the field of sports management.

4- Mariano Soriano Lacambra (General Director of Sports) (Aragón, 1963) Holds the position of general director of Sports of the Government of Aragon. He has a degree in Physical Education and Law from the University of Aragón, and a Master's Degree in Sports Law from the University of Lleida.

5- Sergio Ramos (Andalusia, 1986) Spanish footballer who plays as a central defender in the Real Madrid Football Club of the First Division of Spain.

6- Marc Márquez (Catalunya, 1993) Spanish motorcycling driver currently racing in MotoGP, he has won the Motorcycle World Championship seven times in three different categories: 125cc, Moto2 and five times in MotoGP.

7- Gerard Piqué (Catalonia, 1987) Spanish footballer who plays as a central defender in the Football Club Barcelona of the First Division of Spain. She is part of the Spanish national team, which was proclaimed world champion 11 July of 2010 in Johannesburg.

8- Fernando Alonso (Asturias, 1981) Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish driver of speed motorsport. He has won twice the Formula 1 World Drivers Championship in 2005 and 2006, 24 2018 Le Mans Hours and 24 2019 Daytona Hours.

9- Luis Enrique (Asturias, 1970) Ex-footballer and Spanish coach who leads the Spanish national team, as a footballer, played midfielder or striker, and developed his professional career at Real Sporting de Gijón, Real Madrid CF and Fútbol Club Barcelona.

10 Carolina Marín (Andalucía, 1993) Carolina María Marín Martín is a Spanish badminton player who competes in the female individual category, present in the list of the best 10 of the BWF ranking.

11 Mireia Belmonte (Andalucía, 1990) Spanish swimmer, Olympic, world and European champion, competing in the categories of styles, butterfly and free.

12 Joana Pastrana (Madrid, 1990) Spanish boxer who in 2016 became the first woman in history to win the European Championship of minimum weight boxing, title that she revalidated in 2017. minimum weight

13 Javier Fernández (Madrid, 1991) Spanish skater, who was configured twice as World Champion, seven times European champion and repeatedly champion of Spain in the youth and veteran categories.

14 Jorge Lorenzo (Islas Baleares, 1987) Spanish motorcycling driver, two-time world champion in the 250cc category in 2006 and 2007, and three-time MotoGP world champion in 2010, 2012 and 2015. He is currently a Honda pilot.

15 Lydia Valentín (Castilla y León, 1985) Spanish athlete competing in weightlifting, in the category of 75 kg, Olympic champion in London 2012, world champion for two consecutive years, and four-time European champion.

16 Sandra Sánchez Jaime (Castilla-La Mancha, 1981) Spanish Karate, considered the best karate player in history in the category of female kata after remaining for three years in a row as world ranking leader. Last year he won the women's kata world championship.

17 Verónica Boquete (Galicia, 1987) Spanish footballer who plays as midfielder or second point in Beijing BG Phoenix FC of the Chinese Women's Super League. In addition, she is also captain in the Spanish women's soccer team.

18 Mario Mola (Balearic Islands, 1990) Spanish athlete who competes in triathlon and has been crowned three times world champion for three consecutive years in 2016, 2017 and 2018.He has won six medals in the Triathlon World Championship and one bronze medal in the Championship European Triathlon 2013.

19 Alejandro Villanueva (Andalusia, 1988) Martín is a Hispanic-American football player who plays in the offensive tackle position and currently plays in the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He lived part of his childhood in Spain, where he learned to play rugby before opting for football during his time in Belgium.

20 Ona Cabonell (Catalonia, 1990) Spanish swimmer and captain of the Spanish synchronized swimming team. He participated in the 2012 London Olympic Games. In the duo mode, together with Andrea Fuentes, he won the silver medal and in the team mode, he managed to win the bronze medal.

21 Ruth Beitia (Cantabria, 1979) This is the only Spanish athlete with two Olympic medals, and the first to win an Olympic gold, competing in athletics in the specialty of high jump.

22 Sergio García (Valencia, 1980) Sergio García Fernández is a Spanish golfer. Nicknamed "El Niño" for being a precocious talent, he competes on both the American PGA Tour and the European Tour.

23 Andres Iniesta (Castilla-La Mancha, 1984) Spanish footballer who plays as a midfielder in the Vissel Kobe of the J1 League of Japan, his training as a footballer started in the lower categories of Albacete Balompié, where he entered with eight years. At twelve he reached the lower categories of FC Barcelona, ​​with which he debuted at 2003 with the first Catalan team in the First Division.

24 Bruno Hortelano (País Vasco-Cataluña, 1991) is a Spanish athlete specialized in 100, 200 and 400 meters. Although he had to share his childhood between Australia and Canada, he is of Spanish nationality, being the son of a Bilbao father and mother who moved because of work demands. It is the current national record holder of 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters and relay 4 × 100. In the European Athletics Championships 2016 was proclaimed champion in the distance of 200 meters.

25 Koke Resurrection (Madrid, 1992) Jorge Resurrección Merodio known athletically as Koke, is a Spanish footballer who plays as a midfielder in Atletico Madrid in the First Division of Spain.