Following are the top 10 athletes of the year 2008 selected by Xinhua News Agency:

    1. Michael Phelps (male, United States)

    The 23-year-old swimmer won eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympic Games, not only refreshing his compatriot Mark Spitz's record of taking seven golds in one Olympic Games (Munich 1972), but also setting the total record of gold taking by a single person (14) in the Olympic history.

    2. Usain Bolt (male, Jamaica)

    The 22-year-old sprinter collected three Olympic gold medals in Beijing from 100 meters, 200 meters and 4x100 meters relay races, and simultaneously broke the world records of the three events. He was elected by IAAF as the best male athlete of the year 2008.

    3. Cristiano Ronaldo (male, Portugal)

    The 23-year-old football talent scored 42 goals for Manchester United, playing the key role in helping the club grab the titles of the English Premier League and the European Champions League. On Dec. 2, he was elected the best European footballer of 2008.

    4. Yelena Isinbayeva (female, Russia)

    The 26-year-old athlete set the world record of 5.04 meters in the women's pole vault at the IAAF Grand Prix Monaco leg. Then, she retained her Olympic title in Beijing with a new high of 5.05 meters. In November, she was elected by IAAF as the best female athlete of the year 2008.

    5. Guo Jingjing (female, China)

    The 26-year-old diver successfully defended her Olympic three-meter springboard sychronized title with her compatriot Wu Minxia, and retained her Olympic three-meter springboard single gold in Beijing. She has become the only athlete to sweep both three-meter springboard sychronized and single titles in two consecutive Olympic Games.

    6. Rafael Nadal (male, Spain)

    The 22-year-old tennis star claimed the men's singles titles in the French Open, Wimbledon and the Beijing Olympics this year. He also overtook Roger Federer from Switzerland to top the ATP ranking.

    7. Kobe Bryant (male, United States)

    The 30-year-old basketball star led the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA Western Conference champions last season, receiving the NBA MVP award for the first time in his career. At the Beijing Olympics, he led the U.S. team to the top podium which they missed for eight years.

    8. Lewis Hamilton (male, Britain)

    The 23-year-old Formula One driver became the youngest-ever F1 world champion this year with a total of 98 points.

    9. Iker Casillas Fernandez (male, Spain)

    The 27-year-old goalkeeper and the captain of Spain led his team to the top podium in the European soccer championship this year. It was the first time for Spain to take the crown in 44 years.

    10. Dayron Robles (male, Cuba)

    The 22-year-old sprinter ran in 12.87 seconds in the men's 110 meters hurdles at the IAAF Grand Prix in the Czech Republic in June, breaking the world record of 12.88 seconds set by Chinese talent Liu Xiang. Then Robles was crowned at the Beijing Olympics. In November, he received the IAAF high performance award of the year.