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, 3 of which were born in Chile. This makes Chile the birth place of the 83rd most number of Athletes behind Mongolia, and Botswana.

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 52.35, 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 44.50, 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 43.80, 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 40.98, 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 Eduardo Cisternas

5. Eduardo Cisternas (b. 2004)

With an HPI of 0.00, Eduardo Cisternas is the 5th most famous Chilean Athlete.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Eduardo Alberto Cisternas Gómez (born January 10, 2004, in Santiago, Chile) is a Chilean swimmer known for competing in freestyle events. He first gained attention when he competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where he set a new Chilean national record in the 400-meter freestyle during the heats. In the heats for the 400 metre freestyle, he broke his own national record that he had set at the 2021 South American Championships. In 2023, at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Cisternas became the third Chilean male swimmer to reach a final in any swimming event. He finished seventh in the 400-meter freestyle. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Cisternas further improved his national record in the 400-meter freestyle, clocking in at 3:51.29, nearly three seconds faster than his previous best.

Photo of Diego Moya

6. Diego Moya (b. 1998)

With an HPI of 0.00, Diego Moya is the 6th most famous Chilean Athlete.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Diego Moya (born 19 October 1998) is a Chilean triathlete. He competed in the men's event at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. He finished in 14th place in the men's triathlon at the 2019 Pan American Games held in Lima, Peru. He also competed in the mixed relay event.

Photo of Karen Gallardo

7. Karen Gallardo (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 0.00, Karen Gallardo is the 7th most famous Chilean Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Karen Pamela Gallardo Pinto (born 6 March 1984 in Valdivia, Los Ríos) is a Chilean athlete. She competed for Chile in discus at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Photo of Virginia Yarur

8. Virginia Yarur (b. 1966)

With an HPI of 0.00, Virginia Yarur is the 8th most famous Chilean Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Virginia Yarur Ready (born 14 December 1966 in Santiago, Chile) is a Chilean Olympic dressage rider. She won a team bronze at the 2014 South American Games, and has competed at four Pan American Games (in 1995, 2011, 2015 and 2019). She is based in Wellington, Florida. Yarur represented Chile during the 2020 Olympic Games after Bermuda did not fulfilled the qualification criteria, while Chile replaced Bermuda. The last time Chile was represented in dressage during the Olympic Games was in 1968. She was ranked 46th in the individual competition during the Olympic Games.

Photo of Belly-Cresus Ganira

9. Belly-Cresus Ganira (b. 2000)

With an HPI of 0.00, Belly-Cresus Ganira is the 9th most famous Chilean Athlete.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Belly-Cresus Ganira (born 25 March 2000) is a Burundian swimmer. He competed in the men's 100m freestyle event at the 2020 Summer Olympics. His time of 54.33 seconds did not qualify for the semifinals.

Photo of Josefina Tapia

10. Josefina Tapia (b. 2002)

With an HPI of 0.00, Josefina Tapia is the 10th most famous Chilean Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Josefina Tapia Varas (born 25 April 2002) is a Chilean skateboarder and three-time Chilean National Skateboarding Champion in women's park. She competed in the women's park event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

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 Eduardo Cisternas, Diego Moya, and Karen Gallardo. 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, Eduardo Cisternas, and Diego Moya.

Living Chilean Athletes

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Deceased Chilean Athletes

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Newly Added Chilean Athletes (2024)

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