The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Peru

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This page contains a list of the greatest Peruvian Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 25 of which were born in Peru. This makes Peru the birth place of the 72nd most number of Athletes behind Chile, and Mongolia.

Top 10

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

Photo of Edwin Vásquez

1. Edwin Vásquez (1922 - 1993)

With an HPI of 54.32, Edwin Vásquez is the most famous Peruvian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages on wikipedia.

Edwin Gonzalo Vásquez Cam (28 July 1922 – 9 March 1993) was an Olympic sport shooter from Peru. He won a gold medal in the 50 m pistol event at the 1948 Summer Olympics, winning Peru's first and only Olympic gold medal to date. Vásquez also won the free pistol event at the 1951 Pan American Games, while placing third in the team pistol event.

Photo of Francisco Boza

2. Francisco Boza (b. 1964)

With an HPI of 42.62, Francisco Boza is the 2nd most famous Peruvian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Francisco Boza (born 19 September 1964) is a Peruvian sport shooter and Olympic medalist. He won a silver medal in trap shooting at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and came fourth four years later.

Photo of Sofía Mulánovich

3. Sofía Mulánovich (b. 1983)

With an HPI of 38.51, Sofía Mulánovich is the 3rd most famous Peruvian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 12 different languages.

Sofía Mulánovich Aljovín (born 24 June 1983) is a Peruvian surfer. She is a 3-time World Surfing Champion, 1 WSL and 2 ISA world championships,. She is the first Peruvian surfer ever to win a World Surf League World Championship Tour event (ex ASP) and the first Latin American woman ever to win the World Title, which she did in 2004 (Peruvian Felipe Pomar won the Men's World Surfing Championship in 1965) In 2004, she won three out of the six World Championship Tour events, and finished the season as Absolute World Champion. Sofia is the only Latin-American surfer to win 2 ISA World Championships. Sofia won the ISA Championships, 2004 in Salinas-Ecuador and 2019 in Miyazaki-Japan. Her main sponsor is Roxy. Mulánovich was inducted into the Surfing Hall of Fame in 2007 due to her achievement in 2004 and 2005. In 2004, she became the first South American and Latin American (man or woman) to ever win the world title. Sofia's list of credits to date is impressive, having won the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, U.S. Open of Surfing and the Surfer Poll (2004 and 2005).

Photo of Stefano Peschiera

4. Stefano Peschiera (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 37.98, Stefano Peschiera is the 4th most famous Peruvian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 10 different languages.

Stefano Peschiera (born 16 January 1995) is a Peruvian competitive sailor and Olympic medal winner. He won Peru's 5th medal in history after 32 years of Peru not getting a medal. He has been recognized with the “Laureles Deportivos del Perú”, the country's highest recognition to an athlete, and has been given the Peruvian Navy's Medal of Honor and the Medal of Honor in the grade of “Knight” from the Peruvian Congress. He also won the gold medal at the Santiago 2023 Panamerican Games. He was named College Sailor of the Year by the US Naval Academy in 2018 sailing for College of Charleston. In 2018, he was recognized by the College of Charleston with the J. Steward Walker Cup, the highest award given by the athletics department and the Charleston Athletic Fund to that years’ outstanding student-athlete (out of 500). He is a three time Central and South American Champion (2019,2021,2024) in the ILCA 7 Olympic Class, a one time US Open winner (2020), and a World Circuit Stage Winner (2020). He has qualified for 15 medal races (finals) in World Circuit Events and was ranked 3rd in the World Rankings in Jun-Aug 2021. 2013 Bolivarian Games. In 2022, he won the Peruvian Nationals in the Snipe class.

Photo of Gladys Tejeda

5. Gladys Tejeda (b. 1985)

With an HPI of 37.78, Gladys Tejeda is the 5th most famous Peruvian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 11 different languages.

Gladys Lucy Tejeda Pucuhuaranga (born 30 September 1985) is a Peruvian long-distance runner who has represented Peru in various international competitions, including the Olympics and the Pan American Games.

Photo of Mariafe Artacho del Solar

6. Mariafe Artacho del Solar (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 36.58, Mariafe Artacho del Solar is the 6th most famous Peruvian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 13 different languages.

Mariafe Artacho del Solar (born 24 October 1993) is an Australian beach volleyball player. She represented Australia at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021. Artacho del Solar plays as a right-side defender. According to the Women's FIVB World Rankings, she and partner Taliqua Clancy are ranked 5th as of 21 January 2020.

Photo of Kimberly García

7. Kimberly García (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 33.96, Kimberly García is the 7th most famous Peruvian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Gabriela Kimberly García León (born 19 October 1993) is a female racewalker from Peru. She won gold medals in the 20 kilometres walk and 35 km walk at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, becoming the first ever Peruvian world medallist and the first Latin American to earn two titles at the same World Athletics Championships. García is the South American record holder for the longer event. She represented Peru in the women's 20 kilometres walk at the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She also holds three Peruvian national records (10,000 m walk, 10 km walk and 20 km walk).

Photo of Juan Postigos

8. Juan Postigos (b. 1989)

With an HPI of 31.33, Juan Postigos is the 8th most famous Peruvian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 10 different languages.

Juan Miguel Postigos Acuña (born 13 May 1989) is a Peruvian judoka who won a bronze medal at the 2011 Pan American Games. That same year Postigos moved to France seeking better training conditions. He competed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, but was eliminated in his first match on both occasions. He was also eliminated in his first match in the men's 66 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Photo of Cristhian Pacheco

9. Cristhian Pacheco (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 29.93, Cristhian Pacheco is the 9th most famous Peruvian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 8 different languages.

Cristhian Simeon Pacheco Mendoza (born 26 May 1993) is a Peruvian long distance runner who specialises in the marathon.

Photo of Lucca Mesinas

10. Lucca Mesinas (b. 1996)

With an HPI of 27.09, Lucca Mesinas is the 10th most famous Peruvian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 4 different languages.

Lucca Mesinas (born 20 April 1996) is a Peruvian surfer. He qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games. In 2020, Mesinas won the inaugural edition of the Gordo Barreda Cup, a tribute to Peruvian surfing legend Sergio Barreda. He placed 7th overall at the 2021 ISA World Surfing Games, where he qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics. He competed in the men's shortboard event, winning his Round 1 heat over top American surfer Kolohe Andino. He was raised in the beach town of Máncora.

People

Pantheon has 25 people classified as Peruvian athletes born between 1922 and 2002. Of these 25, 23 (92.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Peruvian athletes include Francisco Boza, Sofía Mulánovich, and Stefano Peschiera. The most famous deceased Peruvian athletes include Edwin Vásquez, and Miguel Mena. As of April 2024, 24 new Peruvian athletes have been added to Pantheon including Francisco Boza, Sofía Mulánovich, and Stefano Peschiera.

Living Peruvian Athletes

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Deceased Peruvian Athletes

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Newly Added Peruvian Athletes (2024)

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