The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Puerto Rico

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This page contains a list of the greatest Puerto Rican Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 1 of which were born in Puerto Rico. This makes Puerto Rico the birth place of the 135th most number of Athletes behind Bahrain, and Åland Islands.

Top 10

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

Photo of Bill Hobbs

1. Bill Hobbs (1949 - 2020)

With an HPI of 39.84, Bill Hobbs is the most famous Puerto Rican Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages on wikipedia.

William Barton Rogers Hobbs (July 30, 1949 – January 4, 2020) was an American rower who competed in the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics. He was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico and is the younger brother of Franklin Hobbs. In 1968 he stroked the American coxed pair which finished fifth in the Rowing at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico. In 1970 he competed on the Dating Game for a date with Karen Carpenter. Two years later he rowed #3 in the American eight that won a silver medal in the 1972 Munich Olympics. He graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Business School.

Photo of Javier Culson

2. Javier Culson (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 29.31, Javier Culson is the 2nd most famous Puerto Rican Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Javier Culson Pérez (born 25 July 1984) is a Puerto Rican athlete and Olympiad bronze medalist who specialises in the 400-metre hurdles. After becoming involved with the discipline in his late teen years, he entered the podium in some regional youth events, including the Pan American Junior Athletics Championships. Culson is a two-time silver medallist at the International Association of Athletics Federations's (IAAF) World Championships and an elite contender in the Samsung Diamond League, where he finished second overall in 2011. He has also garnished medals in events with lower profiles, including the Central American and Caribbean Games and the Ibero-American Championships. He currently holds the record as "the world's fastest man" in that category. Culson also competed at the 2012 Olympics in London winning the bronze medal in the 400-metre hurdles race. In the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Culson made it all the way to the finals of the men's 400m hurdles only to be disqualified by a false start.

Photo of Jonny Moseley

3. Jonny Moseley (b. 1975)

With an HPI of 19.91, Jonny Moseley is the 3rd most famous Puerto Rican Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Jonathan William Moseley (born August 27, 1975) is an American freestyle skier and television presenter. He is the first person born in Puerto Rico to become a member of the U.S. Ski Team. He is also known for hosting three seasons of MTV's The Challenge, which was formerly known as Real World/Road Rules Challenge. He has also hosted four reunion specials for Battle of the Sexes, the sequel of Battle of the Seasons, Rivals II and Free Agents.

Photo of Manny Santiago

4. Manny Santiago (b. 1985)

With an HPI of 0.00, Manny Santiago is the 4th most famous Puerto Rican Athlete.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Emanuel "Manny" Santiago (born September 10, 1985), nicknamed "Manny Slays All", is a professional skateboarder from Cayey, Puerto Rico. Santiago is the first Puerto Rican skateboarder to be in the Street League Skateboarding (SLS) "premier competitive series". In 2013, Santiago won two consecutive stops in the first ever "Select Series" at Street League Skateboarding (SLS) Brazil and Barcelona. As an amateur, Santiago won 1st place for Best Trick at the Black Box Crossroads Contest amongst professional skateboarders like Nyjah Huston, Chris Cole, Torey Pudwill, and Ryan Sheckler. In 2012, he became the first Puerto Rican street skateboarder to place in the top three in the X Games after coming in 3rd place at the finals in Barcelona. He is famously recognized for his missing tooth, ear-to-ear smile, and endlessly positive demeanor.

Photo of Aleksandra Jarecka

5. Aleksandra Jarecka (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 0.00, Aleksandra Jarecka is the 5th most famous Puerto Rican Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Aleksandra Jarecka (née Zamachowska, born 11 October 1995) is a Polish épée fencer. She competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics, and is the 2024 Summer Olympics bronze medalist in the team competition.

Photo of Jack López

6. Jack López (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 0.00, Jack López is the 6th most famous Puerto Rican Athlete.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Jack Henry López (born December 16, 1992) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball infielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels. Listed at 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) and 160 pounds (73 kg), he bats and throws right-handed.

Photo of Wesley Vázquez

7. Wesley Vázquez (b. 1994)

With an HPI of 0.00, Wesley Vázquez is the 7th most famous Puerto Rican Athlete.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Wesley Joel Vázquez Vázquez (born 27 March 1994) is a Puerto Rican middle distance runner.

Photo of Yarimar Mercado

8. Yarimar Mercado (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 0.00, Yarimar Mercado is the 8th most famous Puerto Rican Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Yarimar Mercado Martínez (born March 12, 1995) is a Puerto Rican sports shooter. She competed in the women's 10 metre air rifle event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. In April 2022, her mother was killed by a stray bullet in her Connecticut home while she was sewing.

Photo of Chantel Malone

9. Chantel Malone (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 0.00, Chantel Malone is the 9th most famous Puerto Rican Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Chantel Ellen Malone (born 2 December 1991 in Puerto Rico) is an athlete representing the British Virgin Islands who competes in the long jump and sprinting events. Malone attended Althea Scatiffe Primary School before attending BVI High School, which Is now known as Elmore Stoutt High School. In college, she was the Conference Champion for both indoor and outdoor track and field events, named All-American at the NCAA Division 1 Championship, and was a finalist at the World Junior Championships in two events, the long jump and the 400. She placed fourth at the Commonwealth Games, won gold at the CAC Championships, and most recently won a silver medal at the NACAC Championships. In August 2015, Malone joined with Digicel as a brand ambassador. She will act as a spokesperson for the brand with a special focus on youth and sports throughout the British Virgin Islands and be featured in Digicel's advertising campaign, highlighting the territory's most reliable 4G network. At the 2019 Pan American Games, Malone became the first athlete to win a medal for the British Virgin Islands in the history of the Pan American Games, winning the gold medal at the long jump event. She represented the British Virgin Islands at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Photo of Melanie Díaz

10. Melanie Díaz (b. 1996)

With an HPI of 0.00, Melanie Díaz is the 10th most famous Puerto Rican Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Melanie Díaz González (born May 7, 1996) is a Puerto Rican table tennis player. As of August 2019, she has been in position 88th with 3840 points in the ITTF Women's World Ranking.

People

Pantheon has 17 people classified as Puerto Rican athletes born between 1931 and 1996. Of these 17, 15 (88.24%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Puerto Rican athletes include Javier Culson, Jonny Moseley, and Manny Santiago. The most famous deceased Puerto Rican athletes include Bill Hobbs, and José Victor Toledo. As of April 2024, 16 new Puerto Rican athletes have been added to Pantheon including Bill Hobbs, Jonny Moseley, and Manny Santiago.

Living Puerto Rican Athletes

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Deceased Puerto Rican Athletes

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Newly Added Puerto Rican Athletes (2024)

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