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 Amane Beriso Shankule

5. Amane Beriso Shankule (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 0.00, Amane Beriso Shankule is the 5th most famous Chilean Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 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 Bárbara Riveros

6. Bárbara Riveros (b. 1987)

With an HPI of 0.00, Bárbara Riveros is the 6th most famous Chilean Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Bárbara Catalina Riveros Díaz (born 3 August 1987, in Santiago de Chile) is a Chilean professional triathlete, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 Olympian. She was the ITU (now World Triathlon) World Sprint Distance Champion in 2012. In France, Bárbara Riveros takes part in the prestigious Club Championship Series Lyonnaise des Eaux. In 2011, Riveros represents Tri Val de Grey and won the opening triathlon in Nice (24 April 2011), and she placed third at the second Grand Prix triathlon in Dunkirk (22 May 2011) behind Andrea Hewitt and Emma Moffatt. In Chile, Bárbara Riveros represents the Club Deportivo Universidad Católica and studies Nutrition at the Universidad de Chile. Her coach was Jamie Turner up to 2010 when he was employed by the Australian NSWIS. Her present coach is Darren Smith. Bárbara Riveros' father, Agustín Riveros, is a physician and brought Bárbara into contact with sports in early childhood.

Photo of Cecilia Pérez

7. Cecilia Pérez (b. 1974)

With an HPI of 0.00, Cecilia Pérez is the 7th most famous Chilean Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 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 Karen Roco

8. Karen Roco (b. 1986)

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

Karen Macarena Roco Aceituno (born 7 October 1986) is a Chilean canoeist. She is commonly known in her country to compete alongside María José Mailliard, with whom she has been interviewed or referenced multiple times.

Photo of Humberto Mansilla

9. Humberto Mansilla (b. 1996)

With an HPI of 0.00, Humberto Mansilla is the 9th most famous Chilean Athlete.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Humberto Fernando Mansilla Arzola (born 22 May 1996) is a Chilean athlete specialising in the hammer throw. He has won multiple medals at regional level including silvers at the 2017 South American Championships and 2018 South American Games. His personal best in the event is 80.21 metres set in Cuenca in 2018 (6 kg hammer). His current national record is 77.70 m, set in his hometown in 2021. He represented Chile at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Photo of Gabriel Kehr

10. Gabriel Kehr (b. 1996)

With an HPI of 0.00, Gabriel Kehr is the 10th most famous Chilean Athlete.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Gabriel Enrique Kehr Sabra (born 3 September 1996) is a Chilean athlete specialising in the hammer throw. He won the gold medal at the 2019 South American Championships with a new championships record of 75.27 metres. His personal best in the event is 76.42 metres set in Temuco in 2019, mark he improved to 77.54 m on 29 April 2021, in the same place. 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 Amane Beriso Shankule, Bárbara Riveros, and Cecilia Pérez. 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, Amane Beriso Shankule, and Bárbara Riveros.

Living Chilean Athletes

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Deceased Chilean Athletes

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Newly Added Chilean Athletes (2024)

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