Pan American Games Santiago 2023: Best Chilean athletes in history

From marathoner Manuel Plaza, tennis players Nicolás Massú and Fernando González, to javelin queen Marlene Ahrens: Chile boasts a rich history of stellar performances at the Olympic Games. Olympics.com explores Chile's heroes at the Olympic Games on the eve of the 2023 Pan American Games.

6 minBy Ockert de Villiers

(2004 Getty Images)

Chile has a proud history performing at the Summer Olympics winning 13 medals - two gold (both in 2004), seven silver and four bronze - since the country's maiden appearance in 1912.

Tennis has been the country's biggest contributor of silverware courtesy of Fernando González and Nicolás Massú in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.

Olympics.com explores Chile's heroes at the Olympic Games as the country gets ready to host the 2023 Pan American Games. The South American nation has over the years produced global stars such as Manuel Plaza, the country's first medallist at the showpiece to javelin queen Marlene Ahrens, and of course the two tennis aces.

Pan American Games Santiago 2023: Preview, schedule, and how to watch live action

20 Oct - 5 Nov

Pan American Games 2023 | Santiago - Chile

Nicolás Massú, the man with the golden glow

Born in Viña del Mar in 1979, Nicolás Massú became Chile's most success athlete at the Olympics striking double gold in Athens 2004.

Massú has won seven titles - one ATP 500, four ATP 250, Olympic singles and doubles gold - in a professional career spanning more than 17 years.

Massú holds the distinction of being the only tennis player in history to have won two gold medals in the same edition of the Olympic Games. He launched himself into global consciousness when he triumphed in both the men's singles and doubles within 24 hours.

Massú and compatriot Fernando González faced Germans Nicolas Kiefer and Rainer Schüttler in the doubles final. The match lasted three hours and 43 minutes with the South American duo fighting back four gold medal points in the fourth set to claim the title. Chile had never won a gold medal in any sport until Massu and Gonzalez won the doubles title.

The next day Massú faced American Mardy Fish in the men's singles final and battled for nearly four hours to capture the Olympic title.

Massú etched his place in Chilean sports history as the main protagonist of his country's greatest feats at a single Olympics.

Fernando González, Chile's most decorated Olympian

Tennis ace González is Chile's most decorated Olympian courtesy of his performances in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.

González won the doubles gold with Massú and bagged the singles bronze medal at Athens 2004 before he upgraded to silver in the singles in Beijing 2008 to complete the full set.

He reached a career-high fifth place in the world ranking and won eleven titles on the ATP circuit. In addition, he reached the finals of the 2007 Australian Open, the 2006 Madrid, and the 2007 Rome Masters Series tournaments in his 14 years as a professional tennis player.

A win in his men's singles semi-finals clash against Fish in Athens 2004 would have set up an all-Chile final against Massú. He, however, bowed the knee before going on to beat American Taylor Dent in the bronze-medal match to earn a place on the podium with Massú.

Four years later, he stepped onto the Olympic podium again after reaching the singles final where he ultimately suffered at the hands of then world number two Rafael Nadal.

Marlene Ahrens: Chile's javelin queen

Named after famed German-American singer and actress Marlene Dietrich, Marlene Ahrens is considered a legend of Chilean athletics.

Ahrens is the only woman to have won an Olympic medal courtesy of the javelin throw silver medal she won at the Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games.

In addition to her success in Melbourne 1956, Ahrens won two gold medals in the Pan American Games in Chicago 1959 and San Pablo 1963. She also boasts four titles in the South American Athletics Championships.

Ahrens arrived in Melbourne on the back of winning gold and silver in two South American Athletics Championships. The Chilean set a national and South American record of 50.38 metres on her second attempt. That mark was enough for her to finish as runner-up behind Latvia's Inese Jaunzeme (53.86m).

Manuel Plaza: Chile's first Olympic medallist

Marathoner Manuel Plaza cemented his place in Chile's sporting history when he won the country's first-ever medal at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam 1928.

Throughout the 1920s Plaza was a dominant figure in distance running on the continent over the 3,000m, 5,000m, 10,000m and cross country.

Competing at his second Olympics, Plaza lined up in the marathon in Amsterdam 1928 looking to improve on the creditable sixth-place finish from four years earlier in Paris 1924.

Plaza came painstakingly close to winning gold in the marathon finishing second in 2:33.23, just 26 seconds behind Olympic champion Frenchman El Ouafi Bougueira.

Plaza was the most recognised Chilean athlete of that period had been the flagbearer at the Opening Ceremonies of Paris 1924 and Amsterdam 1928. With the silver he confirmed his legendary status in Chilean athletics. He died in February 1969, aged 68, in Santiago, Chile.

Óscar Cristi, the great "General" of Chilean horsemanship

Óscar Cristi was one of several soldiers who excelled at the Olympic Games. Thanks to his mastery in horsemanship, the rider was the first Chilean in history to win two Olympic medals in the same edition. He held that distinction for 52 years until Massú's tennis double gold.

Cristi, along with other soldiers Lieutenant César Mendoza and Army Captain Ricardo Echeverría were selected as the Chilean horse-riding delegation for the Helsinki 1952 Olympic Games.

After an exhaustive trip, Cristi and his horse "Bambi" won the silver medal in the individual jumping event on 3 August 1952 behind Frenchman Pierre Jonquères d'Oriola. Cristi also shared the podium with his teammates in the team jumping event where he won his second silver medal behind the United Kingdom.

Erika Olivera (2012 Getty Images)

Érika Olivera: Olympics is a marathon, not a sprint

Marathon runner Érika Olivera may not have earned silverware on the Olympic stage but has been a true ambassador for the ideals of the global showpiece.

Olivera, who represented her country at five Olympics, holds the record for the most appearances at the Games by a Chilean athlete.

At the age of 23, she won the gold medal in the women's marathon at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg and four years later she claimed bronze at the 2003 edition in Santo Domingo.

She made her Olympic debut at age 20 at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games where she finished in 37th place. Four years later, she produced her best result at the Olympics crossing the finish in 27th place at the Sydney 2000.

In Athens 2004 she finished 58th and after an absence in Beijing 2008, she returned in London 2012, where she finished in 61st position.

Olivera ended her Olympic journey at the age of 40 in Rio 2016 where she finished in 105th place becoming the first woman to participate in five marathons at the Games.