Before 2019 comes to an end, CGTN has compiled our top 10 athletes list of 2019. The standard is simple: These are the best performers in their given sports.

Lionel Messi, Football, Barcelona, Argentina

On December 2, Lionel Messi received his sixth Ballon d'Or award, breaking the previous record of five, which he shared with Cristiano Ronaldo.

But this was not the only record the 32-year-old created this year. In the 2018-19 season, he scored 36 goals for Barcelona in La Liga, winning his sixth European Golden Shoe award. Counting all of his club competitions this year, this was Messi's sixth 50+ goal season. By the way, he also delivered more than 20 assists.

Perhaps we are getting used to Messi being great.

Marc Gasol, Basketball, Toronto Raptors, Spain

On June 13, the Toronto Raptors won their first NBA championship in franchise history. Kawhi Leonard was the NBA Finals MVP, but Spanish center Marc Gasol was also one of the major contributors to the team's success. He took care of Joel Embiid in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, helped locked down Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Eastern Conference Finals and kept punching the Golden State Warriors where it hurt the most in the NBA Finals, both offensively and defensively.

But the basketball world stretches further than just the NBA.

On September 15, Gasol led Spain to defeat Argentina in the final game of the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Beijing, winning the country's second title in the event. Gasol did not drop the best numbers, but his greatness was behind every successful possession the team had on the court.

Zhu Ting, Volleyball, VakifBank Istanbul/Tianjin Bohai Bank, China

In May, VakifBank Istanbul defeated Eczacibasi VitrA 3-2 in the final of the 2018-19 Turkish Women's Volleyball League to win the title. Chinese player Zhu Ting scored 106 attack points with a success rate of 50 percent in five matches, beating all other spikers and receiving the tournament MVP award.

On September 29, China won the championship at the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Cup in Japan. Zhu, as China's captain, won the MVP award just as she did in 2015, becoming the first player in history to win back-to-back World Cup MVP honors. Though she missed two matches, Zhu was still elected Best Outside Spiker with a success rate of 54.85 percent.

Tom Brady, American Football, New England Patriots, U.S.

On February 3, the New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, marking the sixth Super Bowl win for the Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady.

Like always, Brady did not throw a ton of deep balls. He preferred to keep the game in control via short, safe but effective passes until a surprising 29-yard pass to Rob Gronkowski in the fourth quarter brought the Patriots to the Rams' 2-yard line. On their next play, Sony Michel's touchdown and Stephen Gostkowski's extra point put the Patriots ahead 10-3, before holding on to win 13-3.

It was the 30th postseason win for Brady, who started the Super Bowl at the age of 41.

Kento Momota, Badminton, Japan

Kento Momota had the most successful year of his career in 2019. On August 25, he edged Anders Antonsen of Denmark 2-1 to defend the men's singles gold at the BWF World Championships in Basel, Switzerland. The 25-year-old won 11 titles this year, surpassing the previous record held by Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia.

His performance paid off financially, as Momota became the first badminton player to receive more than 500,000 U.S. dollars in bonuses.

Momota returned to Japan after his final match on December 16. He recalled 2019 as a year in which he kept struggling and working hard before finding success. "I felt my growth this year," said Momota.

Chen Yufei, Badminton, China

Of the 13 women's singles championships won by China in 2019, seven were won by Chen Yufei. Having competed in 16 tournaments, she qualified for at least the semifinals in 15 and won all seven finals she entered.

As the best-performing women's singles player this season, Chen witnessed her world ranking rise to No. 1.

More importantly, Chen improved her performance against other top players. In the women's singles final match of the BWF World Tour Finals, the 21-year-old managed to come back after falling behind early to defeat Tai Tzu-ying from Chinese Taipei, who held a 14-1 record against Chen.

Lewis Hamilton, F1, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, UK

On December 1, Lewis Hamilton of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport team won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It was his 11th title this season. Hamilton defended his World Drivers' Championship while Mercedes won the World Constructors' Championship again.

"I'm proud but just super grateful for this incredible team and all at Mercedes who have continued to push this year. Even though we had the championship won we wanted to keep our head down and see if we could extract more from this beautiful car," Hamilton said in a post-race press conference.

With six championships and 84 wins under his belt, Hamilton is inching closer to F1's greatest legend Michael Schumacher.

Simone Biles, Gymnastics, U.S.

Simone Biles continued her dominance of women's gymnastics in 2019. She won five gold medals – team, all-around, vault, balance beam and floor exercise – at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.

With a total of 19 golds – more than double her nearest competitor – three silvers and three bronzes, Biles held a firm grip on the overall medal count.

Two more signature moves were named after Biles. A double-double dismount from the balance beam, which includes a double-twisting double backflip, is called the "Biles." On the floor routine, a triple-double, which consists of a double backflip with three twists, is called the "Biles II."

Liu Shiwen, Table Tennis, China

2019 was a fantastic year for Liu Shiwen. She claimed the women's singles gold medal at both the World Table Tennis Championships and Table Tennis World Cup, the sport's most important annual competitions. Her 4-2 victory over Zhu Yuling in the World Cup Final made her the only player to ever win five World Cup titles.

In the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals, which ended December 15, Liu paired with Xu Xin to win the mixed doubles championship. Her ITTF Female Star Award capped a great year.

"I think I was very lucky. I got the opportunity that I was waiting for, and it was a reward for my insistence, hard work and effort," Liu told CCTV.

Eliud Kipchoge, Distance Running, Kenya

On October 12, world marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge, 34, made history by busting the mythical two-hour barrier for the marathon on a specially prepared course in a huge Vienna park with an unofficial time of 1:59:40.2.

"I am the first man – I want to inspire many people, that no human is limited," said the history-making Kenyan. "We can make this world a beautiful world and a peaceful world. My wife and three children, I am happy for them to come and witness history," Kipchoge said.

Though his performance won't be recognized as a world record, Kipchoge was named World Athletics' Male Athlete of the Year.