him so relevant to men today. He is by turns a chain-smoking, drinking-in-the-office emblem of a bygone age, and an unusually real, earnest human being who illustrates the struggles modern men know all too well.

2. Usain Bolt
Three-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt held on to his title as the fastest man on the planet, and comes in on our ranking as the second most influential man of 2009. At the World Championships this past August, the Jamaican sprinter beat the records he had set at the 2008 Olympics in both the 100- and 200-meter events, making him the first man to simultaneously retain the 100- and 200-meter Olympic and World titles.
Usain Bolt’s phenomenal achievements on the track made him an obvious choice for the 2009 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award, and the runner earned a number of prestigious honors from his native country as well. In September, Prime Minister of Jamaica Bruce Golding announced that the champion sprinter will receive the Order of Jamaica, making the soon-to-be titled Honorable Usain Bolt the youngest recipient ever of the Order.

The Jamaican government also appointed him ambassador-at-large, granting him full diplomatic status. Golding announced in parliament that Highway 2000, the Caribbean island’s high-speed expressway, will be renamed in “Lightning” Bolt’s honor. All eyes will remain on Usain Bolt in the months to come to see if the world’s fastest individual has it in him to establish new sprinting records in 2010.

3. Barack Obama
Satirical newspaper The Onion nailed it when they ran the headline “Black Man Given Nation’s Worst Job” following the 2008 elections. Barack Obama came into office with the U.S. in the darkest days of its 233-year history. We were in the midst of two wars, had become almost universally abhorred around the world, were mired in a seemingly bottomless economic “downturn,” and faced the sad fact that Miley Cyrus was the biggest star we had.

President Obama had his work cut out for him. However, throughout the last year, the calm, cool commander in chief has lived up to his hype and brought the country back from the brink. He quietly transitioned troops out of Iraq, steered the SS U.S. Economy out of iceberg-strewn financial waters and closed down the highly controversial prison camp at Guantanamo Bay.

While mending the most powerful nation on earth, Barack also continued to be a world-class father and husband, and managed to throw out a respectable first pitch at the All-Star Game in St. Louis. Not a bad year for a guy with more pressure on his shoulders than any man in recent history.

4. Mark Zuckerberg
In 2009, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder, CEO and president of Facebook, celebrated the fifth anniversary of the in

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