The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Colombia

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This page contains a list of the greatest Colombian Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 12 of which were born in Colombia. This makes Colombia the birth place of the 57th most number of Athletes behind Trinidad and Tobago, and Algeria.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Colombian Athletes of all time. This list of famous Colombian 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 Colombian Athletes.

Photo of María Isabel Urrutia

1. María Isabel Urrutia (b. 1965)

With an HPI of 38.35, María Isabel Urrutia is the most famous Colombian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages on wikipedia.

María Isabel Urrutia Ocoró (born 25 March 1965) is a former weightlifter, athlete and politician from Colombia. She won the first ever gold medal for Colombia at the Summer Olympic Games.

Photo of Óscar Figueroa

2. Óscar Figueroa (b. 1983)

With an HPI of 37.71, Óscar Figueroa is the 2nd most famous Colombian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Oscar Albeiro Figueroa Mosquera (born 27 April 1983) is a retired Colombian weightlifter, and a gold medallist competing in the 62 kg category until 2018 and 67 kg starting in 2018 after the International Weightlifting Federation reorganized the categories. He was born in the rural township of Zaragoza, located in Cartago, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. He initially retired from the sport after the 2016 Summer Olympics, but has returned to international competition and has competed at the 2018 World Weightlifting Championships. He formally announced his retirement again in November 2019.

Photo of Ximena Restrepo

3. Ximena Restrepo (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 37.42, Ximena Restrepo is the 3rd most famous Colombian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Ximena Restrepo Gaviria (born March 10, 1969, in Medellín) is a former Colombian nationalized Chilean sprinter who specialised in the 400 metres. With the time of 49.64 seconds she won a bronze medal in 400 metres at the 1992 Olympic Games, Colombia's first athletics medal. This result is still a South American record, as is the case with her 200 metres time of 22.92 seconds, which she achieved in 1991. At the 1991 Pan American Games she won silver medals in 200 and 400 metres. Restrepo is married to Chilean shot putter Gert Weil. She attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where she won the 1991 NCAA Championship in the 400 metres. Martina Weil, daughter of Ximena and Gert, is a track and field athlete at the University of Tennessee after winning the 400 meters in the South American U23 championships and setting a Chilean national record in the event, and recently won a gold medal in the 400 meters in the 2023 Panamerican games. Living now in Chile, she is the first female elected vice-president of the World Athletics, in Doha on 25 September 2019.

Photo of Caterine Ibargüen

4. Caterine Ibargüen (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 36.99, Caterine Ibargüen is the 4th most famous Colombian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 36 different languages.

Caterine Ibargüen Mena ODB (born 12 February 1984) is a retired Colombian athlete competing in high jump, long jump and triple jump. Her notable achievements include a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, silver medal in the 2012 Summer Olympics, two gold medals in the World Championships in Athletics, and two gold medals in the 2011 Pan American Games and 2015 Pan American Games.

Photo of Orlando Duque

5. Orlando Duque (b. 1974)

With an HPI of 35.13, Orlando Duque is the 5th most famous Colombian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Orlando Duque (born September 11, 1974 in Cali, Colombia) is a Colombian high diver. He won the first ever Gold medal in the sport at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, Spain.

Photo of Yuri Alvear

6. Yuri Alvear (b. 1986)

With an HPI of 30.32, Yuri Alvear is the 6th most famous Colombian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Yuri Alvear Orejuela (born 29 March 1986) is a Colombian judoka, three times World Champion in her division.

Photo of Diego Salazar

7. Diego Salazar (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 26.74, Diego Salazar is the 7th most famous Colombian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Diego Fernando Salazar Quintero (born 3 October 1980) is a Colombian weightlifter, Olympic medalist and two times gold medal winner at the Pan American Games. He was born in Barranquilla. Salazar participated in the men's -62 kg class at the 2006 World Weightlifting Championships and won the bronze medal, finishing behind Qiu Le and Oscar Figueroa. He snatched 131 kg and clean and jerked an additional 164 kg for a total of 295 kg, 13 kg behind winner Qiu. He ranked sixth in the 62 kg category at the 2007 World Weightlifting Championships, lifting a total of 293 kg. At the 2008 Pan American Weightlifting Championships he won the silver medal in the 62 kg category, lifting 302 kg in total.

Photo of Luis Fernando López

8. Luis Fernando López (b. 1979)

With an HPI of 25.83, Luis Fernando López is the 8th most famous Colombian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Luis Fernando López Erazo (born 3 June 1979 in San Juan de Pasto, Nariño) is a Colombian race walker. López was introduced to athletics by his father, who was also a competitive race walker. His uncle, Marcelino Pastrana, was a former Colombian national champion at the 800 m, and later became his coach. When he won the gold medal at the 2011 World Championships, it was the first athletics world championship medal to be won by a Colombian. He was declared the silver medalist in a photo finish at the 2017 Pan American Race Walking Cup 50 kilometers race walk, walking the same time as winner Claudio Villanueva, his personal best 3:51:35.

Photo of Sandra Arenas

9. Sandra Arenas (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 24.80, Sandra Arenas is the 9th most famous Colombian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Sandra Lorena Arenas Campuzano (born September 17, 1993 in Pereira, Colombia) is a Colombian race walker. She won the silver medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in the 20 kilometer race walk. She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London in the 20 kilometer race walk. In May 2012, Arenas won the women's 10 kilometer event (junior event) at the 2012 IAAF World Race Walking Cup in Saransk, Russia. In July 2012, Arenas won the bronze medal in the 10km race walk event at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics with a time of 45:44.46. Arenas placed 29th in 20km race walk at the 2012 Summer Olympics with a time of 1:33:21. She Again Placed 32nd at the 2016 Summer Olympics, with a time of 1:35:40; She went on to Place Second in the 2020 Summer Olympics, with a time of 1:29:37.

Photo of Anthony Zambrano

10. Anthony Zambrano (b. 1998)

With an HPI of 23.80, Anthony Zambrano is the 10th most famous Colombian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Anthony José Zambrano de la Cruz (born 17 January 1998) is a Colombian sprinter. He won the silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the 400 metres, setting the new South American record of 43.93 seconds. He was also a finalist of the 400 metres in the 2015 World Youth Championships in Athletics held in Cali, Colombia. The following year he was in the final of the 400 metres at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. He currently holds the national record and national record U23 in the 400 meters at 43.93 sec, which also becomes South American record U23 and the second best historical mark of South America in the 400 meters. He won the 2018 South American Under-23 Championships in Athletics, setting the championship record. In 2019 he won the Pan American Games 400 meters in Lima, Peru. He has qualified to represent Colombia at the 2020 Summer Olympics where he won the silver medal in the 400 metres with a time of 44.08, finishing behind Steven Gardiner.

People

Pantheon has 46 people classified as Colombian athletes born between 1965 and 2000. Of these 46, 46 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Colombian athletes include María Isabel Urrutia, Óscar Figueroa, and Ximena Restrepo. As of April 2024, 34 new Colombian athletes have been added to Pantheon including Éider Arévalo, Diego Palomeque, and Aleksandr Askerov.

Living Colombian Athletes

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Newly Added Colombian Athletes (2024)

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