Sport in Chile
Sports in Chile are performed at both amateur and professional levels, practiced both at home and abroad to develop and improve, or simply represent the country. Association football is the most popular sport in Chile, and is played for a range of reasons. However, the country's most successful sport is tennis. In rural areas, Chilean rodeo is the most practiced sport in Chile, which is the national sport. Chile has achieved great international success in other sports, and there have been important figures, however, such exploits are not known to the general population because they are not sports that have been popular throughout the country.
The country has experience as host of major global sporting events such as the 1959 Basketball World Cup, 1962 FIFA World Cup, 1992 and 2015 World Polo Championships and multisport events: 1986 and 2014 South American Games and the 2023 Pan American Games.
History
The first played sport in Chile was palín, first practiced by the Mapuche before the discovery and conquest of the country. The game was later called Chueca by the Spanish conquerors.Years later Europeans introduced other sports unknown in this country. Valparaíso is Chile's main sport, and due to the emerging nitrate industry in the north, it became a crossroads for ships coming from Europe, bringing equipment and personnel for newspapers, firefighting, railroads, steam engines, and others. Immigrants from England, Italy and Spain came to work in the hills mining nitrate. They had traveled to Chile to stay and live, but the immigrants yearned for the customs of the old continent, especially the British. Chilean sport originated in the town of Valparaiso in the second half of the 19th century by the British and their descendants born in Chile, who began to ride horses, and then played cricket. In 1870, badminton and tennis courts had been built. Then rugby and football clubs were created with British names that continue to be used, as Wanderers and Everton are still present in the port and its neighboring city, Viña del Mar. Sport initially served as a demonstration of spirit and promoted the health of its followers, but later became an expression of entertainment that would gain spectators and fans.
The development of sport was unstable, with no planning by government and without large financial contributions, only the will of those interested. Chile participated among the select countries inaugurating the Modern Olympics in Athens, Greece, where there was no official representation, but a spontaneous presence of a single athlete, Luis Subercaseaux, who arrive dressed in the national colors to run the hundred meter dash, and had been training in outdoor running. After a hundred years of modern sport, the history of Chile has not produced many world level sports heroes, but by the end of the 20th century, it became clear that the competition was to win. The triumphs in the meantime have been less than many would like, but objectively, more than many would believe.
Athletics
The first Olympic medal that went to Chile was in athletics.Track and field
ran 42.195 kilometers in 2 hours 33 minutes and 23 seconds to win a silver medal in the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. Marlene Ahrens won a silver medal in the javelin in the 1956 Olympic Games, the first and only woman representing Chile to win an Olympic medal. The athlete with the most recent win is sprinter Sebastián Keitel, who was considered at the time to be the fastest white man in the world in the 200 meter dash.Triathlon
The prime example of triathlon was the Chile triathlete Cristián Bustos, who almost won the Ironman title in Hawaii in 1992. Bustos ran a hard race against the legendary American Mark Allen, and in the running phase, Bustos took the front position, but at 25 kilometers, Allen overtook him and Bustos took a close second place. Currently, the best female Chile participant is Barbara Riveros, who was ranked as the best triathlete in Latin America, and eighth in the world in the 2005 World Triathlon Championship. The best Chile male athlete in triathlon is Felipe Van de Wyngaard, who has made significant achievements nationally and abroad. Chile has Ironman 70.3 Pucón South American triathlon test circuits, Triathlon circuits, and Villarrica Viña del Mar, an international circuit with the most amateur and professional athletes in the world.Boxing
is accepted in Chile. Luis Vicentini and Estanislao Loayza are notable Chilean boxers from the 1920s. The greatest boxing figure of the 1930s was Arturo Godoy, who fought twice against Joe Louis, and was, until his retirement, South American champion in all weights. Ramón Tapia, Claudio Barrientos and Carlos Lucas were silver and bronze medalists in the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. Godfrey Stevens fought in 1970 for the world title against Japanese featherweight Shozo Saijyo. One of the most memorable fighters were flyweight Martín Vargas, who was South American champion in his specialty and tried four times to get the world boxing title for Chile, losing at every opportunity, but becoming a national idol. Carlos Cruzat was the world champion in the cross category in the International Boxing Association. In women's boxing, Patricia Demick was the world champion and became the first Chilean boxer, male or female, to hold a world title.Equestrian
have achieved major successes for Chile. In 1949, Chile Army Captain Alberto Larraguibel Morales with his horse "Huaso" succeeded in breaking the world record high jump to break a barrier of 2.47 meters.In the 1952 Olympic Games, Chile's entire equestrian team participated in three disciplines: jumping, dressage, and concourse, receiving silver medals in team and individual show jumping. The pairs medalists were Ricardo Echeverría on "Lindo Peal", César Mendoza Durán on "Pillán" and Óscar Cristi on "Bambi". The latter won the silver medal in individual competition.
In 1981, the International Olympic Committee in New York awarded General Eduardo Yáñez Zavala distinction as "the best rider of all time" for his significant achievements in the 1930s and 1940s. Called "El maestro", he was the leading Chilean in countless equestrian competitions, president of the Equestrian Federation, and an International Olympic Judge.
Fencing
is not well known in Chile. However, Chile has long had a fencing presence in the Olympic Games, the Pan American Games, and the South American Games with key competitors such as Paris Inostroza, who participated in three Olympic Games. Another outstanding athlete is Felipe Alvear, who has obtained several medals in the Pan American Games in the foil weapon.Golf
is played in each of the major cities of central and southern Chile, and lately the game has spread considerably in popularity. However, this sport is practiced by the upper class and upper middle class due to high costs of participation in the game. The most important tournament played in the country is the Chile Open.There are two benchmarks for this sport in Chile. Nicole Perrot is the greatest athlete of Chilean women's golf due to her outstanding participation in the LPGA tour, the main world women's golf circuit, winning the Longs Drugs tournament of 2005. The current leading male golfer in Chile is Felipe Aguilar, who participated in the PGA European Tour, and his greatest achievement was winning the Open of Indonesia in February 2008, and he was the first participant in the Chilean circuit of the PGA Tour.
Gymnastics
Recently Chile has been very successful in gymnastics with Tomas Gonzalez Sepulveda, who was crowned world champion in several disciplines. In December 2010, Thomas Gonzalez was awarded the "Condor of Gold" by the Circle of Sports Journalists of Chile as the best Chilean sportsman of the year.Martial arts
Karate
The most recent triumph for karate in Chile was by David Dubó, who became the world champion of Karate in Tokyo in 2008. Dubó won the final match in the category of 75 kilos, by a close margin in a fierce struggle against Turk Müslüm Baştürk that was decided by arbitrary decision.Taekwondo
In 1988, the Chilean Taekwondo Federation became Interstyle Champion in martial arts, an event with over one thousand martial arts participants. Today, taekwondo in Chile is part of the Sports Federation, affiliated with the Chile Olympic Committee. Chile has participated in major events, like the ODESUR Games, where Chilean Taekwondo has added to date ten gold medals, earned by athletes Leopoldo Araneda, Fernando Remedy, Esteban Vitagliano and Renzo Zenteno in 1986; Diego Yánez and Humberto Norambuena in 1990; Anyelina Contreras, Sergio Cárdenas and Felipe Soto in 1994; Felipe Soto in 1998, and several silver and bronze medals.In the Pan American Games, Chilean athlete Diego Yánez won a bronze medal in 1991, and Sergio Cárdenas also won bronze in 1995.
Three Chilean representatives have qualified and participated in the Olympic Games: Diego Yánez and Humberto Norambuena in Barcelona 1992, and Felipe Soto in Sydney 2000. Chilean athletes have won a great number of medals in Taekwondo, and in the World Cup, the South American Championships, the Pan American Games and the World Games.
Racing sports
Cycling
is one of the most practiced recreational sports in Chile, although Chilean cyclists have not had many competitive successes at the international level. The Vuelta Ciclista de Chile is the principal national competition in which various international teams participate.Chilean cyclist Marco Arriagada has participated in three Olympic Games. He was the standard bearer in the Chilean delegation in the 2007 Pan American Games, where he won Gold in team pursuit and won fourth in scoring. Arriagada also received two gold medals and two silver medals in the 2003 Pan American Games; Gold in the 2006 South American Games; eight gold medals in Pan American Championships; two-time champion of the Tour of Chile; and champion of the 2004 World Cup in Russia. As for women, the most prominent international athlete is Bernardita Pizarro, who in 2006 was fifth in the Union Cycliste Internationale rankings.
In addition to Marco Arriagada, a number of other cyclists have excelled internationally. Usually the best riders in Chile are from the city of Curicó, which is known as the "capital of cycling".