• Submitted by: admin
• Caribbean
• Central America
• South America
• Sports
• 12 / 22 / 2006

The US pitcher Santana, Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell and Brazilian soccer player Ronaldinho Gaucho won first prizes of this annual survey.

The most spectacular was the group category in which the Brazilian volleyball male team received the most votes a few hours before the survey closed.

These men and women mentioned lead the 10 sportsmen awarded due to their outstanding performances this year:

Jamaican runner Sherone Simpson, Dominican baseball player Albert Pujols, Argentinean tennis player David Nalbandian and Panamanian Irving Saladino.

The list is closed by three Cubans, hurdler Dayron Robles, judoka Janet Bermoy and the weight lifter Sergio Alvarez.

There were 115 Latin American and Caribbean media outlets that voted in Prensa Latinas survey. Cuba had the biggest participation with 27 followed by Venezuela with 15 and Mexico with 11.

Cuba is the nation with most winners: 22 men, 11 women and eight teams, including all-time greats athlete Javier Sotomayor and Ana Fidelia Quirot, with five and four trophies respectively.

The Brazilian Football team is the best group with six trophies.