The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Guatemala

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This page contains a list of the greatest Guatemalan Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 1 of which were born in Guatemala. This makes Guatemala the birth place of the 137th most number of Athletes behind Puerto Rico, and The Gambia.

Top 10

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

Photo of Erick Barrondo

1. Erick Barrondo (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 26.02, Erick Barrondo is the most famous Guatemalan Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages on wikipedia.

Érick Bernabé Barrondo García (born 14 June 1991) is a Guatemalan racewalker who competes in the 20 km walk and 50 km walk events. He won the silver medal at the Men's 20 km Racewalk in the 2012 Summer Olympics, the first Olympic medal in Guatemala's history.

Photo of Mayra Herrera

2. Mayra Herrera (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 0.00, Mayra Herrera is the 2nd most famous Guatemalan Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Mayra Carolina Herrera Pérez (born 20 December 1988 in Guatemala City) is a Guatemalan race walker. She competed in the 20 km kilometres event at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics.

Photo of Mirna Ortiz

3. Mirna Ortiz (b. 1987)

With an HPI of 0.00, Mirna Ortiz is the 3rd most famous Guatemalan Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Mirna Sucely Ortiz Flores (born 28 February 1987) is a Guatemalan racewalker. Having begun in the sport in 1998, she won a Central American youth title in 2000, and was a promising young athlete in her discipline, but had to abandon the sport at the age of 14 due to financial hardship. She then returned to a competitive level in 2011, urged by coach Rigoberto Medina. Her return proved to be fruitful as in September 2011 she earned second place in the National Polish Championship in Varsovia, thereby qualifying for the 2012 Summer Olympic, and a few weeks later she won the silver medal at the 2011 Pan American Games, behind her compatriot Jamy Franco in a race they both led from start to end. On 18 March 2012 she set the 20 km record for the North, Central American, and Caribbean region at 1:28:54 at the Memorial Mario Albisetti in Lugano, Switzerland, where she came in second. In the 2012 Olympic games in London she competed in the 20 km walk along the other two women of the Guatemala racewalking team, Jamy Franco and Mayra Herrera but was disqualified after 8 km. After the World Championships that took place in Moscow in August 2013, she married compatriot racewalker Érick Barrondo. She has qualified to represent Guatemala at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She was the flag bearer for Guatemala during the Parade of Nations.

Photo of Luis Ángel Sánchez

4. Luis Ángel Sánchez (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 0.00, Luis Ángel Sánchez is the 4th most famous Guatemalan Athlete.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Luis Ángel Sánchez (born 15 December 1993) is a male Guatemalan racewalker. He competed in the 50 kilometres walk event at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, China, finishing the 36th. He has qualified to represent Guatemala at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Photo of Waleska Soto

5. Waleska Soto (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 0.00, Waleska Soto is the 5th most famous Guatemalan Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Ana Waleska Soto Abril (born 14 August 1990) is a Guatemalan sport shooter and former softball player. She competed in the women's trap event at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics by winning the gold medal at the 2024 CAT Shotgun Championship in Santo Domingo. Waleska Soto started out as a softball player, winning a bronze medal with the Guatemalan national team at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games in Puerto Rico, although she learned the sport of shooting as a teenager through a summer camp. She earned a scholarship to play softball at Martin Methodist College in the United States, where she began shooting again. Soto competed in both sports at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games, winning a silver medal in the women's trap event. She won a bronze medal in the same event at the 2017 Bolivarian Games, and placed fourth at the 2019 Pan American Games to qualify for the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics. She won Gold at the 2022 Bolivarian Games, celebrated in Valledupar. She won the Silver medal at the 2023 Central American and the Caribbean Games. The same year, she won Silver at the 2023 Pan American Games. In 2024, Soto won the Gold medal at the 2024 CAT Shotgun Championship in Santo Domingo. On 3 July, 2024, the Guatemalan Olympic Committee chose Soto and badminton player Kevin Cordón to be the country’s flag bearers at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Photo of Luis Grijalva

6. Luis Grijalva (b. 1999)

With an HPI of 0.00, Luis Grijalva is the 6th most famous Guatemalan Athlete.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Luis Miguel Grijalva (born 10 April 1999) is a Guatemalan long-distance runner. Born in Guatemala, he attended Armijo High School in Fairfield, California, where he was a state champion in cross country and track. He competed for Northern Arizona University from 2017 to 2021, securing multiple All-American finishes in the NCAA. In 2021, Grijalva began competing professionally, sponsored by Hoka One One. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, he finished 12th in the 5000m. He also finished fourth in the 5000m at both the 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Championships.

Photo of Juan Ignacio Maegli

7. Juan Ignacio Maegli (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 0.00, Juan Ignacio Maegli is the 7th most famous Guatemalan Athlete.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Juan Ignacio Maegli Agüero (born 21 July 1988, in Guatemala City) is a Guatemalan sailor who competed at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics in the Laser class event where he finished 33rd and 9th respectively. He was the flag bearer for Guatemala during the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony.

Photo of Adriana Ruano

8. Adriana Ruano (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 0.00, Adriana Ruano is the 8th most famous Guatemalan Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Adriana Ruano Oliva (born 26 June 1995) is a Guatemalan sports shooter and Olympic champion. She competed in the women's trap event at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She won the gold medal and set a new Olympic record in the women's trap event at the 2024 Summer Olympics, the first ever gold medal for Guatemala at the Olympics.

Photo of Jennieffer Zúñiga

9. Jennieffer Zúñiga (b. 1987)

With an HPI of 0.00, Jennieffer Zúñiga is the 9th most famous Guatemalan Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Jennieffer Zúñiga (born 13 March 1987) is a Guatemalan rower. She competed in the women's lightweight double sculls event at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Photo of Anna Van Bellinghen

10. Anna Van Bellinghen (b. 1994)

With an HPI of 0.00, Anna Van Bellinghen is the 10th most famous Guatemalan Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Anna Van Bellinghen, sometimes written as Anna Vanbellinghen (born 10 March 1994) is a Belgian weightlifter. She is a silver medalist at the European Weightlifting Championships. She also represented Belgium at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

People

Pantheon has 13 people classified as Guatemalan athletes born between 1987 and 1999. Of these 13, 13 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Guatemalan athletes include Erick Barrondo, Mayra Herrera, and Mirna Ortiz. As of April 2024, 12 new Guatemalan athletes have been added to Pantheon including Mayra Herrera, Mirna Ortiz, and Luis Ángel Sánchez.

Living Guatemalan Athletes

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Newly Added Guatemalan Athletes (2024)

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