The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Chile

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This page contains a list of the greatest Chilean Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 26 of which were born in Chile. This makes Chile the birth place of the 70th most number of Athletes behind Azerbaijan, and Indonesia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Chilean Athletes of all time. This list of famous Chilean Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Chilean Athletes.

Photo of Marlene Ahrens

1. Marlene Ahrens (1933 - 2020)

With an HPI of 58.86, Marlene Ahrens is the most famous Chilean Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages on wikipedia.

Marlene Ahrens Ostertag-Ebensperger (July 27, 1933 – June 17, 2020) was a Chilean athlete. She won the silver medal in Javelin throw at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne with a distance of 50.38 metres. She was the mother of journalist Karin Ebensperger.

Photo of Manuel Plaza

2. Manuel Plaza (1900 - 1969)

With an HPI of 51.95, Manuel Plaza is the 2nd most famous Chilean Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Manuel Jesús Plaza Reyes ((17 March 1900 – 9 February 1969) was a Chilean athlete who won the country's first Olympic medal. He earned a silver medal in the marathon at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games, finishing with a time of 2 hours, 33 minutes, and 23 seconds, just 26 seconds behind French runner Boughéra El Ouafi. In the 1924 Paris Olympics, Plaza placed sixth.

Photo of Ramón Tapia

3. Ramón Tapia (1932 - 1984)

With an HPI of 51.34, Ramón Tapia is the 3rd most famous Chilean Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Ramón Tapia Zapata (March 17, 1932 in Antofagasta – April 12, 1984) was a Chilean boxer who won the silver medal in the middleweight division at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Tapia died in 1984.

Photo of Óscar Cristi

4. Óscar Cristi (1916 - 1965)

With an HPI of 48.86, Óscar Cristi is the 4th most famous Chilean Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Óscar Cristi Gallo (June 29, 1916 – March 25, 1965) was a Chilean police officer and a successful show jumping rider from the late 1940s until the late 1960s. In 1952 he won both the individual and team Olympic silver medals in the jumping competition of the equestrian event. He was the first Chilean athlete to win two Olympic medals. The Chilean team jumping in 1952 was Óscar Cristi on Bambi, César Mendoza on Pillán and Ricardo Echeverría on Lindo Peal. On March 25, 1965, Óscar Cristi had a fatal car accident as he was about to retire from the post of Deputy Director-General of the Carabineros. In 1992 the riding school in Santiago operated by the Carabineros was renamed in his honor.

Photo of Francisca Crovetto

5. Francisca Crovetto (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 41.22, Francisca Crovetto is the 5th most famous Chilean Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Francisca Crovetto Chadid (born April 27, 1990, in Santiago) is a Chilean sport shooter. She won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the women's skeet event, marking the third gold medal in Chilean Olympic history and becoming the first Chilean woman to win gold. Crovetto represented Chile at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, competing as the nation's sole shooter in the women's skeet. She placed eighth in the qualifying rounds, narrowly missing the finals by one point behind Sweden's Therese Lundqvist, with a total score of 66 targets. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Crovetto was again Chile's lone representative in sport shooting, finishing 19th. She also represented Chile at the 2020 Summer Olympics. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Crovetto won gold in women's skeet, defeating Britain's Amber Rutter in a controversial tiebreaker. They were tied 55-55 after 60 shots, but Crovetto prevailed 7-6 in the tiebreaker to win Chile's first gold medal in two Olympic Games. At the Pan American Games, Crovetto boasts a gold medal from the 2023 Santiago edition, silver medals from the 2011 Guadalajara and 2019 Lima editions, and a bronze from 2015 Toronto edition.

Photo of Zhang Yu

6. Zhang Yu (b. )

With an HPI of 38.02, Zhang Yu is the 6th most famous Chilean Athlete.  Their biography has been translated into 7 different languages.

Zhang Yu may refer to: Zhang Yu (actress) (张瑜; born 1957), Chinese film actress Zhang Yu (basketball) (张瑜; born 1986), Chinese basketball player Zhang Yu (footballer, born 1994) (张瑀), Chinese footballer Zhang Yu (footballer, born 2001) (张禹), Chinese footballer Zhang Yu (general) (張玉; 1343–1401), Ming dynasty general Zhang Yu (hurdler) (张瑜; born 1971), Chinese hurdler Zhang Yu (Nanhe) (張裕; died 219), courtesy name Nanhe, official serving under the Eastern Han dynasty warlord Liu Bei Zhang Yu (sport shooter) (born 2000), Chinese sports shooter Zhang Yu (tennis) (born 1976), Chinese tennis player Zhang Yu (voice actress) (张昱; born 1988), Chinese voice actress known for Overwatch Zhang Yu (volleyball) (张宇; born 1995), Chinese volleyball player

Photo of Amane Beriso Shankule

7. Amane Beriso Shankule (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 35.16, Amane Beriso Shankule is the 7th most famous Chilean Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Amane Beriso Shankule (born 13 October 1991) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. In 2023, she won the marathon at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest. In 2022, she improved her marathon personal best by nearly six minutes to take the win at the 2022 Valencia Marathon, placing third on the world all-time list. Beriso finished second at the 2023 Boston Marathon.

Photo of Marco Grimalt

8. Marco Grimalt (b. 1989)

With an HPI of 33.80, Marco Grimalt is the 8th most famous Chilean Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 7 different languages.

Marco Alfonso Grimalt Krogh (born 11 July 1989) is a beach volleyball player representing the Chilean national volleyball team. He has participated in the Pan American Games in 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023, as well as the South American Games in 2010 and 2014. He represented Chile at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Teaming up with his cousin Esteban Grimalt, he clinched the gold medal at the 2019 Pan American Games and was honored with the National Sports Award in 2022.

Photo of Cecilia Pérez

9. Cecilia Pérez (b. 1974)

With an HPI of 31.56, Cecilia Pérez is the 9th most famous Chilean Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 5 different languages.

Cecilia Pérez Jara (born 23 September 1974) is a Chilean politician which has served as minister in the two governments of Sebastián Piñera. From 2011 to 2012, she was intendant of the Santiago Metropolitan Region.

Photo of Esteban Grimalt

10. Esteban Grimalt (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 31.48, Esteban Grimalt is the 10th most famous Chilean Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 6 different languages.

Esteban Mauricio Grimalt Fuster (born 9 January 1991 in Santiago) is a Chilean Olympic beach volleyball player. His greatest achievements are Gold in the South American Circut of Viña del Mar 2009, Gold in the Continental Tour Paraguay 2013, Gold in Continental Tour Bolivia 2013, Gold in Continental Tour Perú 2014, and Silver in the 2014 South American Games. He classified for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro with his cousin Marco Grimalt and received Gold in the 2019 Panamerican Games. He represented Chile at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

People

Pantheon has 26 people classified as Chilean athletes born between 1900 and 2004. Of these 26, 22 (84.62%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Chilean athletes include Francisca Crovetto, Zhang Yu, and Amane Beriso Shankule. The most famous deceased Chilean athletes include Marlene Ahrens, Manuel Plaza, and Ramón Tapia. As of April 2024, 23 new Chilean athletes have been added to Pantheon including Óscar Cristi, Francisca Crovetto, and Zhang Yu.

Living Chilean Athletes

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Deceased Chilean Athletes

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Newly Added Chilean Athletes (2024)

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