Sport in Chile - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Sport in Chile is performed in both amateur and professional levels, practiced both at home and abroad to develop and improve, or simply represent the country. The most representative sport in Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

is football, however, the most successful is tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

. In rural areas, the most practiced sport is rodeo

Chilean rodeo

Rodeo is a traditional sport in Chile. It was declared the national sport in 1962. It has since thrived, especially in the more rural areas of the country. Chilean rodeo is different from the rodeo found in North America...

, which is the national sport, and is considered to be the second most popular sport after football. 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.

History

The first sport played in Chile was palín (similar to hockey), first practiced by the Mapuche

Mapuche

The Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. They constitute a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage. Their influence extended...

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

Valparaíso

Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...

is Chile's main port, 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 descendents born in Chile, who began to ride horses, and then played cricket. In 1870 badminton

Badminton

Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...

and tennis

Tennis

courts had been built. Then rugby

Rugby football

Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...

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

Viña del Mar

Viña del Mar , is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Its long stretches of white sandy beaches are a major attraction for national and international tourists. The city is Chile's main tourist attraction. Known as "La Ciudad Jardín" , Viña del Mar is a Chilean Municipality located...

. 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

1896 Summer Olympics

The 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, was a multi-sport event celebrated in Athens, Greece, from April 6 to April 15, 1896. It was the first international Olympic Games held in the Modern era...

in Athens, Greece, where there was no official representation, but a spontaneous presence of a single athlete, Luis Subercaseaux

Luis Subercaseaux

Luis Subercaseaux Errázuriz was a Chilean diplomat and athlete. He is claimed to be the first Chilean and South American sportsman to have competed in the Olympic Games, at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens....

, 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

Manuel Plaza Reyes ran 42.195 kilometers in 2 hours 33 minutes and 23 seconds to win a silver medal in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games. Marlene Ahrens

Marlene Ahrens

Marlene Ahrens Ostertag is a female Chilean athlete. She won the silver medal in Javelin throw at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne with a distance of 50.38 metres. She remains the only Chilean woman to have won an Olympic medal. She is the mother of the journalist Karin Ebensperger.-References:...

won a silver medal in the javelin in the 1956 Melbourne 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

Sebastián Keitel

Sebastián Keitel Bianchi is a Chilean sprinter who competed mostly in the 200 metres. He was coached by renowned Chilean coach Pedro Soto Acuna, who has since been living in Singapore....

, 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

Triathlon

A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...

was the Chile triathlete Cristián Bustos

Cristian Bustos

Cristian Bustos Costa is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Celta de Vigo as a defensive midfielder.-External links:** *...

, who almost won the Ironman

Ironman Triathlon

An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation consisting of a swim, a bike and a marathon run, raced in that order and without a break...

title in Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

in 1992. Bustos ran a hard race against the legendary American Mark Allen

Mark Allen (triathlete)

Mark Allen is the six-time Ironman Triathon World Champion. He graduated from UC San Diego,where he was an All-American swimmer, with a degree in biology....

, 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 the Americas 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

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

is popular in Chile. Luis Vicentini and Estanislao Loayza (El Tani) are notable Chilean boxers of the 1920s. The greatest boxing figure of the 1930s was Arturo Godoy

Arturo Godoy

-Biography:He was born in Iquique, Chile, in 1910.He was South American Heavyweight Champion and had an extensive and successful career in Argentina, Cuba, Spain, and the United States roughly between 1931 and 1954.In New York he beat Tony Galento....

, who fought twice against Joe Louis

Joe Louis

Joseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...

and was, until his retirement, South American champion in all weights. Ramón Tapia

Ramon Tapia

Ramón Tapia Zapata was a Chilean boxer, who won the silver medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia...

, Claudio Barrientos

Claudio Barrientos

Claudio "Tripa" Barrientos was a Chilean boxer, who won the bronze medal in the bantamweight division at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. A year earlier he won the silver medal at the Pan American Games. His nickname was Tripa...

and Carlos Lucas

Carlos Lucas

Carlos Lucas Manríquez is a former Chilean boxer. He won the bronze medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. He also claimed the bronze at the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago, United States. He was born in Villarrica, Chile.-References:...

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 Martín Vargas

Martín Vargas

Martín Vargas Fuentes is a former boxer from Chile, who represented his native country at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. He attempted to obtain Chile's first boxing world title four times...

, 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

International Boxing Association

The International Boxing Association is a for-profit organization that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards world and subordinate championships.- Origins :...

. In women's boxing, Patricia Demick

Patricia Demick

Patricia Demick is a female boxer who made history by becoming Chile's first world boxing champion ever, including male boxing....

was the world champion and became the first Chilean boxer, male or female, to hold a world title.

Equestrian

Equestrian sports have achieved major milestones 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 Helsinki 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" (Army), César Mendoza Durán on "Pillán" (Carabineros de Chile

Carabineros de Chile

thumb|250px|Carabineros de Chile, patrolling a street in [[Santiago, Chile|Santiago]]The Carabiniers of Chile, are the uniformed Chilean national police force and gendarmerie, created on April 27, 1927. Their mission is to maintain order and create public respect for the laws of the country...

) and Óscar Cristi on "Bambi" (Carabineros). 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 1930s and '40s. Called "El maestro", he was the lead Chilean in countless equestrian competitions, president of the Equestrian Federation, and an International Olympic Judge.

Fencing

Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...

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

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

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

Nicole Perrot

Nicole Perrot is a Chilean professional golfer. She is the first Chilean-born player to win on the LPGA TourPerrot was born in Viña del Mar, Chile. She won the 2001 U.S. Girls' Junior and was runner-up at the U.S. Women's Amateur that same year. She turned professional the following year. She...

is the greatest athlete of Chilean women's golf due to her outstanding participation in the LPGA

LPGA

The LPGA, in full the Ladies Professional Golf Association, is an American organization for female professional golfers. The organization, whose headquarters is in Daytona Beach, Florida, is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from...

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

Felipe Aguilar

Felipe Aguilar Schuller is a Chilean professional golfer who has won over 30 events in Chile.Aguilar is currently a member of the European Tour. In 2006 he became the second Chilean, after Roy Mackenzie to earn full membership to the European Tour but failed to retain full playing rights at the...

, who participated in the PGA European Tour

PGA European Tour

The PGA European Tour is an organization which operates the three leading men's professional golf tours in Europe: the elite European Tour, the European Seniors Tour and the developmental Challenge Tour. Its headquarters are at Wentworth Club in Virginia Water, Surrey, England...

, 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

PGA Tour

The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...

Gymnastics

Recently Chile has been very successful in gymnastics

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...

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.

Handball

The sport of handball

Team handball

Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...

is little known in Chile, but the Chile Women's National Handball Team qualified for the 2009 Women's World Handball Championship.
The sport is regulated by the Federación Chilena de Handball, in turn affiliated with the Confederación Sudamericana de Balonmano, the Pan American Handball Federation and the International Handball Federation

International Handball Federation

The International Handball Federation, often referred to by the acronym IHF, is the administrative and controlling body for International team handball.- Championships :*World Men's Handball Championship*World Women's Handball Championship...

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 in 1991 and Sergio Cárdenas won a bronze in 1995.

Three Chilean representatives have qualified and participated in the Olympic Games: Diego Yánez and Humberto Norambuena in Barcelona 1992 (when Taekwondo was a demonstration sport), and Felipe Soto in Sydney 2000 (as an official sport). Chilean athletes have won a great number of medals in Taekwondo in the World Cup, the South American Championships, the Pan American Games and the World Games.

Cycling

Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...

is one of the most practiced recreational sports in Chile, although Chilean cyclist have not had many competitive successes at an international level. The Vuelta Ciclista de Chile

Vuelta Ciclista de Chile

The Vuelta Chile is an elite men's professional road bicycle racing stage race held annually in Chile since 1976. It's the most important race in the South American country alongside the Vuelta Ciclista Por Un Chile Lider, established in 1997.-History:...

is the principal national competition in which various international teams participate.

Chilean cyclist Marco Arriagada has participated in three Olympic Games (1996, 2004 and 2008). He was the standard bearer in the Chilean delegation in the 2007 Pan American Games

2007 Pan American Games

The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to July 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Committees competed in 332 events in 34 sports and in...

, 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

2003 Pan American Games

The 14th Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from 1 to 17 August 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when this country had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America....

; Gold in the 2006 South American Games

2006 South American Games

The VIII South American Games were a multi-sport event held from 9 to 19 November 2006 in Buenos Aires,Argentina, with some events in Mar del Plata...

; eight Gold medals in Pan American Championships; two time champion of the Tour of Chile; and champion of the 2004 World Cup of Russia. As for women, the most prominent international athlete is Bernardita Pizarro, who in 2006 was fifth in Union Cycliste Internationale

Union Cycliste Internationale

Union Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland....

ranking.

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

Curicó

Curicó , meaning "Black Waters" in Mapudungun , is the capital city of the Curicó Province, part of the Maule Region in Chile's central valley....

, which is known as the "capital of cycling".

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

in Chile has been well developed since the end of the nineteenth century. Major racetracks include the Club Hípico de Santiago, the Hipódromo Chile and the Valparaíso Sporting Club. The major races held in Chile are the El Ensayo Classic, the St. Legar Classic and the Chile Derby, which make up the Triple Crown of horseracing in Chile.

Notable riders include Sergio Vásquez, with the most career wins in national horse racing; José Santos León, who rode in the United States for over 20 years and won more than 4,000 races; Carlos Pezoa, two-time winner in the Carlos Pellegrini International Gran Prix, the ultimate test in South American horse racing; Ruperto Donoso winner of the Belmont Stakes

Belmont Stakes

The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...

in 1947; and Luis Torres.

Several good horses have come out of Chile including "Desert Fight", the mare that won six races, with rider Alberto Solari Manasco, in eight runs in Chile against a score of fillies; and "Cougar II", the horse that in 2006 was elected into the American Horseracing Hall of Fame.

Auto racing

The first Chilean driver to win an international race was Juan Zanelli

Juan Zanelli

Juan Zanelli was a Chilean racecar driver. He was born in Iquique, Chile in 1906. He raced in Grand Prix motor racing and hillclimbs from 1929 to 1936. In a Bugatti he won the 1929 and 1930 Bugatti GP at Le Mans, finished 8th in Alessandria in 1929 and 2nd in 1930, 2nd at the 1929 Marne GP and 3rd...

, who competed in the Formula 1 Gran Prix. The greatest driver in Chilean motorsports is Eliseo Salazar

Eliseo Salazar

Eliseo Salazar Valenzuela is a Chilean racing driver, and the only one of his countrymen to compete in Formula One. He participated in 37 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix scoring a total of three championship points...

, who is the only driver in the world to participate in the "magic square" of world motorsport, composed of the four traditional races: the Gran Prix of Monaco, the Indianapolis 500, the 24 hours of Le Mans, and Dakar Rally. Pablo Donoso

Pablo Donoso

Pablo Donoso Prado is a professional racing driver from Santiago de Chile. He began racing at 9 years of age. He is currently racing in the Firestone Indy Lights Series and passed the Rookie Test for the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series on February 29, 2008 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.-Career:In...

reces in the Indy Pro Series

Indy Pro Series

Firestone Indy Lights is a developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar. Previously, another series named Indy Lights filled the same role for CART and ran from 1986 to 1993 as the American Racing Series and Dayton Indy Lights from 1991 to 2001...

and is currently the highest performing Chilean driver.

Chile was elected, along with Argentina, as the seat of the 2009 Dakar Rally

2009 Dakar Rally

The 2009 Dakar Rally was the 30th running of the Dakar Rally. In addition to motorcycle, automobile, and truck categories, a separate quad class was added for the first time. The race began on January 3, 2009, and took place across Argentina and Chile...

due to the suspension of this trial road rally on the contenent of Africa. This trial is one of the worlds toughest rallies, and competitive drivers like Eliseo Salazar

Eliseo Salazar

and Carlo de Gavardo

Carlo de Gavardo

Carlo de Gavardo Prohens is a Chilean motorist and motorcyclist who has participated in numerous rallies worldwide, including the Rallye Dakar and Rallye des Pharaons...

participate in the auto category. Gavardo was world champion in the bike rally and came in third in the 2001 Dakar Rally

2001 Dakar Rally

2001 Dakar Rally also known as the 2001 Paris-Dakar Rally was the 23rd running of the Dakar Rally event. The format was revised to reduce the amount of airborne assistance to competitors in favour of assistance vehicles...

riding a KTM

KTM

KTM Sportmotorcycle AG is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and moped manufacturer.The company was founded in 1934 by engineer Hans Trunkenpolz in Mattighofen. It started out as a metal working shop and was named Kraftfahrzeuge Trunkenpolz Mattighofen...

Sportmotorcycle.

The principal automotive competitors are now participating in the Mobil Rally and the Chile Formula 3.

Motorcycle Racing

The best competitor in motorcycle racing in Chile is Carlo de Gavardo

Carlo de Gavardo

Carlo de Gavardo Prohens is a Chilean motorist and motorcyclist who has participated in numerous rallies worldwide, including the Rallye Dakar and Rallye des Pharaons...

who has won international awards participating in enduro as well as cross-country rally, including the World Rally Championship.

Another World Champion is Francisco "Chaleco" López in the 450 cc category, somewhat surprising when taken into account the fact that the team did it with a Honda and not a KTM, the number one motorcycle used in rally.

Rodeo

Chilean rodeo

is the national sport in Chile, practiced in the more rural areas of the country, and the second most popular sport in Chile after football. Chilean rodeo has been practiced in rural areas in central and southern regions of Chile for more than 400 years, but only in 1962 was it declared the national sport by letter number 269 of the National Sports Council and the Olympic Committee of Chile.

Every year the National Championship Rodeo is held in Medialuna Monumental de Rancagua. Its greatest participants are Ramón Cardemil

Ramón Cardemil

Ramón Cardemil Moraga was a Chilean rodeo horse rider, considered one of Chile's best rodeo riders of all time. He and Juan Carlos Loaiza are the riders who have won the most titles in the Chilean National Rodeo Championship.-National Rodeo Championships:-References:...

and Juan Carlos Loaiza

Juan Carlos Loaiza

Juan Carlos Loaiza MacLeod is a Chilean rodeo horse rider. He won the Chilean National Rodeo Championship in 1987, 1988, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2007, equalling the record of seven championship wins set by Ramón Cardemil. In 2009 he was named among the best Chilean riders of the 21st century by...

, who have achieved the national title seven times. The past champions were Christopher Cortina and Victor Vergara, who won the 2010 National Championship Rodeo.

Practical Shooting

The sport of practical shooting

Practical shooting

Practical shooting is a sport which challenges an individual's ability to shoot rapidly and accurately with a full-power handgun, rifle, or shotgun. To do this, shooters take on obstacle-laden shooting courses called stages, some requiring many shots to complete, and others just a few...

is the most dynamic shooting sport in the world today. The worldwide organization for the sport is the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC), founded May 1976 in Columbia, Missouri, USA. Unlike traditional shooting sports in which the shooter is stationary, IPSC sportsmen using small arms try to hit a variety of shooting targets as they maneuver safely through a course that can require them to walk, run, and even jump over obstacles in their path. The game measures the accuracy of the shooter hitting targets as well as the amount of time it takes to complete the course. The athlete who can qualify the maximum number of points in the minimum length of time is declared the winner. IPSC shooting is practiced worldwide and international competitions are held in more than 70 countries. Tournaments vary in physical size from regional competitions to national championships, continental championships, and World Championships, which are held in cycles of three years. More than 700 competitors from about 70 member organizations attend these festivals in five days of competition and international goodwill. In Chile this sport has been practiced since the early 1990s when the Chile Federation was recognized and accepted as a member of the IPSC.

Shotgun shooting

Chile got its first world championship in shooting when Juan Enrique Lira won the trap shooting event at the 1965 World Shotgun Championships. Jorge Jottar won silver in the skeet shooting event that year. Alfonso de Iruarrizaga

Alfonso de Iruarrizaga

Alfonso de Iruarrizaga is a Chilean sports shooter and Olympic medalist. He received a silver medal in skeet shooting at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Iruarrizaga was the only medalist for Chile at the 1988 Summer Olympics....

is a Chilean sports shooter and Olympic medalist. He received a silver medal in skeet shooting

Skeet shooting

Skeet shooting is one of the three major types of competitive shotgun target shooting sports . There are several types of skeet, including one with Olympic status , and many with only national recognition.- General principles :Skeet is a recreational and competitive activity where...

at the 1988 Summer Olympics

1988 Summer Olympics

The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...

in Seoul. Iruarrizaga was the only medalist for Chile at the 1988 Summer Olympics.

Table Tennis

Although Chile has not been featured worldwide, mainly due to the superb level of Asians, it has on numerous occasions at the Pan American Games and the South American Games, without the need for nationalization of the sport, as with other countries. Among the leading table tennis players is Sofija Tepes. Felipe Olivares, only 15 years old, is the current teen world champion.

Baseball

The majority of activity in the sport of baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

takes place in the northern part of Chile, where it was introduced from abroad in the early 20th Century. It was first played by Americans in northern Chile, and later played by the Japenese Sakurada in Iquique, the city that would become the national champion in various events. Tocopilla is another major city that has won the national title over 18 consecutive times. Chile has participated in eight South American championships and was among the Top Ten in the 1989 Junior World Championship in Japan.

Baseball is played mainly in the cities of Iquique, Tocopilla, Antofagasta and Arica, as well as some other cities such as Santiago, San Antonio, Melipilla and Concepción.

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

is a popular sport in Chile. The country earned a bronze medal in the first men's FIBA World Championship

FIBA World Championship

The FIBA World Championship is an international basketball competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of the International Basketball Federation , the sport's global governing body...

held in 1950 and won a second bronze medal when Chile hosted the 1959 FIBA World Championship

1959 FIBA World Championship

The 1959 FIBA World Championship was an international basketball competition hosted by Chile from January 16 to 31 , 1959. Amaury Antônio Pasos was named the MVP....

. Chile hosted the first FIBA World Championship for Women

FIBA World Championship for Women

The FIBA World Championship for Women is a world basketball tournament for women's national teams held quadrennially...

in 1953, finishing the tournament with the silver medal.

In the last few years, basketball has regained the popularity it had in Chile in the 1950s and '60s. The Basketball Senior Division of Chile (DIMAYOR) is the professional league which involves twelve teams, and the current champion is Club Liceo Mixto de Los Andes. Basketball is played mainly in the south part of the country, generally at the university level. Unlike football, basketball has South American men's titles at various levels and a world womens basketball sub-championship.

Chile was third in world men's basketball in 1950 and 1954.

At the club level, Thomas Bata

Club Deportivo Thomas Bata

The Club Deportivo Thomas Bata is a Chilean amateur sports club based in Peñaflor. It was founded in 1940 by employees of the local Bata Shoes factory, and its name is a tribute to Tomáš Baťa, the company's founder....

was the champion of Campeonato Sudamericano de Clubes Campeones in basketball in 1967—the only South American Pacific Coast club with this achievement.

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

has been played in Chile since 1829, and the first club, the Valparaíso

Valparaíso

Cricket Club was formed in 1860. Chile's first international fixture was played in 1893 against Argentina.

Interest in the game had waned after the Second World War, and Chile

Chile

did not become a member of the ICC

International Cricket Council

The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...

until 2002. Although, the sport regained some popularity due to the national team's participation at the World Cricket League

World Cricket League

The ICC World Cricket League is a series of international one-day cricket tournaments for national teams without Test status, administered by the International Cricket Council. All associate and affiliate members of the ICC are eligible to compete in the league system, which features a promotion...

, and the Chile women's national cricket team at the Women's version of the ICC Americas Championship

ICC Americas Championship

The ICC Americas Championship is a one-day cricket tournament organised by the Americas Cricket Association for non-Test national cricket teams in the Americas...

. The national team's first international engagement as an ICC affiliate member was the Division 3 tournament of the ICC Americas Championship

ICC Americas Championship

The ICC Americas Championship is a one-day cricket tournament organised by the Americas Cricket Association for non-Test national cricket teams in the Americas...

, played in Suriname

Suriname

Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...

on February 2006. The Chileans finished in third place, their only win coming against Brazil.

The February 2008 edition of the Division 3 tournament was held in Argentina. Chile defeated Belize, Turks & Caicos Islands

Turks and Caicos Islands

The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the Caribbean, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre.The Turks and...

, and Peru

Peru national cricket team

The Peru national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Peru in international cricket matches.-History:Peru gained affiliate membership of the International Cricket Council on 29 June 2007. They have played in every edition of the South American Championships from 1997 onwards,...

only to lose to Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. Chile finished the tournament second due to the net run rate.

Currently, Chile is a member of the ICC and actively develops programs for children. Although the sport in Chile is poorly understood and has very few athletes who practice it, Beach Cricket has become very popular on the beaches of Central Coast in the summer months. The second International Beach Cricket Tournament was held in February 2009 on the beach of Las Salinas Viña del Mar

Viña del Mar

, in which more than eighty players, domestic and foreign, divided into ten teams.

Football

Football is the most respresentative sport in Chile, which in 1962 hosted the FIFA World Cup and won third place. Chile achieved a bronze medal in the 2000 Sidney Olympic Games; third in the 2007 FIFA World Youth Championship; and third place in the 1993 Under 17 Championship in Japan. The Chile national football team is, with Venezuela and Ecuador, one of the countries in South America that has never won the America Cup, although it has played in four finals and is the country in fourth place in the number of times it has attended FIFA World Cup in South America.

As for clubs, the most important international achievement by a Chilean team was the tournament won by Colo-Colo in the Copa Libertadores in 1991. Also, Colo-Colo won the South America Cup and the American Cup in 1992. Catholic University Sports Club won the American Cup in 1994.

Some of the best football players in Chile have been Sergio Livingstone

Sergio Livingstone

Sergio Roberto "Sapo" Livingstone Pohlhammer , affectionally called Sapito Livingstone, is a former Chilean goalkeeper, considered the first great footballer in the country's history, who later became a well regarded journalist. He was called El Sapo for his typical posture in the goal mouth...

, Enrique Hormazábal

Enrique Hormazabal

Enrique "Cua cuá" Hormazábal was a former Chilean football right wing midfielder who played for Colo-Colo and the Chilean national team.-Playing career:...

, Leonel Sánchez

Leonel Sánchez

Leonel Guillermo Sánchez Lineros is a former professional football player.Regarded as one of Chile's most important players, Sánchez holds the record for most games played for Chile with 84 games and 23 goals between 1955 and 1968...

, Elías Figueroa

Elías Figueroa

Elías Ricardo Figueroa Brander is a former football player from Chile. He is considered the best Chilean footballer of all time, as well as one of the greatest defenders ever to play the game....

, Carlos Caszely

Carlos Caszely

Carlos Humberto Caszely Garrido is a former Chilean footballer, nicknamed "Rey del metro cuadrado" .Regarded as one of Chile's most important players, between 1969 and 1985, Caszely won 49 caps and scored 29 goals for the Chile national team, including participations in the 1974 and 1982 World...

, Roberto Rojas

Roberto Rojas

Roberto Antonio "Cóndor" Rojas Saavedra is a retired Chilean football goalkeeper. He is best known for a 1989 on-the-field incident in which he deliberately injured himself in an attempt to avoid a loss by the Chilean national team...

, Iván Zamorano

Iván Zamorano

Iván Luis Zamorano Zamora is a retired Chilean football striker. Along with former world-class forward Marcelo Salas and former world player of the year Elias Figueroa he is regarded as one of Chile's most recognized footballers.He was a member of the Chilean national team and played in the 1998...

and Marcelo Salas

Marcelo Salas

José Marcelo Salas Melinao , better known as El Matador, Shileno or simply Marcelo Salas, is a former football player from Chile. He, along with world cup veterans, 3 time Best Player of America Elías Figueroa and former Real Madrid and Inter Milan forward Iván Zamorano, has been one of Chile's...

Roller Hockey

Until the 1930s, roller hockey was played in Chile for recreation in Santa Licía Hill and in the Salón Merced. In 1938 the Santiago Association was formed and played in the Plaza de la Libertad in front of the Palacio de La Moneda. Then followed the founding of the Valparaíso Association, the Viña del Mar Association and the Andes Association. Three times Chile has won fourth place in the Men's World Roller Hockey Championship. Chile has hosted the Men's World Roller Hockey Championship twice, once in 1962 where every game was played in the National Gymnasium, and again in 1980 held in the port city of Talcahuano.

Chile hosted the 2006 Women's World Roller Hockey Championship and won the championship by defeating Spain in the final. and won the Roller Hockey America's Cup in 2007 and the Pan American Ice Hockey Championship in 2011.

Polo

Chile is the current world polo champion, achieved in May 2008 after beating Brazil 11-9 in the final game of the 2008 Polo World Cup in Mexico City.

The late Gabriel Donoso

Gabriel Donoso

Gabriel Donoso Rosselot was a Chilean polo player, considered one of Chile's best polo players of all time. He was the only Chilean polo player to ever reach 9-goals in handicap.. He was born in Santiago, Chile....

was the greatest polo player in Chile, having the highest handicap of 9 goals and is remembered for having led the Chilean national team to win the prestigious Coronation Cup, awarded by Queen Elizabeth II of England in 2004, and a second title in 2007. Chile hosted the World Polo Championship in 1992 where it won second place, and received third place in the 2004 World Cup held in France.

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

has been played in Chile since at least the 1880s, introduced by the British. The Chile Rugby Union was formed in 1935 and was renamed the Rugby Federation of Chile in 1948. At present, Rugby is one of the fastest growing sports in Chile, especially in the universities. The Chile national rugby union team

Chile national rugby union team

The Chile national rugby union team is a rugby union nation representing Chile. They first played in 1935 and have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup. Rugby union in Chile is administered by the Federación de Rugby de Chile...

("The Condors") has so far never qualified for a Rugby World Cup

Rugby World Cup

The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....

, but is ranked 24th in the FIRA

FIRA

FIRA is a four-letter acronym used for:* FIRA - Association of European Rugby* Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations* Foreign Investment Review Agency * Federation of International Robot-soccer Association...

world rankings, making Chile the third best team in Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

, after Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

and Uruguay

Uruguay

Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

.

Currently there are 14 rugby associations distributed throughout the country (between Arica and Magallanes), plus a referees association. The most recognized Rugby teams in Chile are Club Deportivo Universidad Católica, Old Boys and Stade Francaise, in Santiago; Old Mackayans and Sporting, in Viña del Mar; and Los Troncos and Old Jhon's, in Concepción.

Volleyball

Volleyball has been played regularly in Chile since the 1920s, with the first tournament in 1932. In 1942 the National Volleyball Association, the predecessor of the current Federation, was formed and organized the first national league.

Chile has received notoriety in the sport of volleyball only sporadically in South America, dominated by such powerhouses as Brazil and Argentina. Chile's greatest achievements in volleyball are second place in the 1961 South American Men's Volleyball Championship and sixth place in the 1971 Pan American Tournament. Chile hosted the South American Championship in 1962 (male and female), 1981 (male), and 2007 (male and female).

Chile has qualified just once each in male and female for the World Volleyball Championships, both in 1982—the 1982 World Women's Volleyball Championship in Peru and the 1982 Men's Volleyball Championship in Argentina.

Tennis

is Chile's most successful sport. Its national team

Chile Davis Cup team

The Chile Davis Cup Team represents Chile in Davis Cup tennis tournament and is governed by Chile Tennis Federation. The team is currently captained by former Chilean tennis player Hans Gildemeister.-History:...

won the World Team Cup

World Team Cup

The World Team Cup is the international team championship of the Association of Tennis Professionals . The tournament has been contested annually since 1978 and is generally considered to be second most prestigious men's team competition in tennis after the Davis Cup.Every year, the eight nations...

clay tournament two times (2003 & 2004), and played the Davis Cup

Davis Cup

The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...

final against Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

in 1976. At the 2004 Summer Olympics

2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

the country captured gold and bronze in men's singles and gold in men's doubles. Marcelo Ríos

Marcelo Ríos

Marcelo Andrés Ríos Mayorga is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Chile. Nicknamed El Chino and El zurdo de Vitacura , he became the first Latin American player to reach the top position on the Association of Tennis Professionals singles rankings in 1998. He held the World No...

became the first Latin American man to reach the number 1 spot in the ATP singles rankings in 1998. Anita Lizana

Anita Lizana

Anita Lizana de Ellis was a World Number 1 tennis player from Chile. She was the first Latin American, and first Hispanic person, to be ranked World Number 1 tennis player. Also, Anita Lizana was the first Latin American to win a Grand Slam singles championship. She won the U.S...

won the US Open in 1937, becoming the first woman from Latin America to win a Grand Slam

Grand Slam (tennis)

The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...

tournament. Luis Ayala

Luis Ayala (tennis)

Luis Alberto Ayala Salinas is a former Chilean world-ranked tennis player who competed in the 1950s and 1960s. When he retired, he became a tennis professional at River Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas. Currently, he is the Director of Tennis at the Forest Club in Houston, Texas.-Grand slams:...

was twice a runner-up at the French Open, and both Ríos and Fernando González

Fernando González

----Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina and Mano de Piedra...

reached the Australian Open

Australian Open

The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...

men's singles finals.

Chilean players held in the highest regard are retired Marcelo Ríos

Marcelo Ríos

, who was Number 1 in the World in the ranking of the Association of Tennis Professionals in 1998; and Luis Ayala

Luis Ayala

Luis Ignacio Ayala is a Major League Baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He is 6' 2" and weighs 190 lbs. and bats and throws right-handed.-Mexican League:...

, winner of two Grand Slams in doubles (with Roland Garros, 1958 and 1960) and two finals in singles, also ranked number five in the world. Prominent Chilean tennis player Anita Lizana

Anita Lizana

was the first Latin American to win the Grand Slam

Grand Slam (tennis)

(Forest Hills predecessor of the current US Open), Hans Gildemeister

Hans Gildemeister

Hans Gildemeister Bohner , is a former Chilean tennis player of German ancestry, who won four singles and 23 doubles titles during his professional career. He is the brother of Heinz and Fritz Gildemeister, who are also tennis players...

was fifth in dobles en 1987 (with Andrés Gómez). Olympic medalists in tennis are Nicolás Massú

Nicolás Massú

Nicolás Alejandro Massú Fried , nicknamed Vampiro , is a Chilean tennis player, a former world number nine in singles, and a two-time Olympic gold medalist...

and Fernando González.

Chile was the champion of the Tennis World Cup for teams in Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...

(2003 and 2004) and was finalist in the Davis Cup in 1976.
In 2004 tennis players Fernando González and Nicolás Massú won the first Olympic gold medals in the Athens Games, after strenuous games receiving the gold medal in doubles (Massú-González), bronze (González) and gold in singles (Massú). In the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Fernando González

Fernando González

won the silver medal in singles.

With regard to the number 1 obtained by Marcelo Ríos

Marcelo Ríos

, the gold medals in the Olympics, the bichampionship in Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf

and the end of the Davis Cup

Davis Cup

, note that Chile

Chile

was the first South American country to achieve these accomplishments.

Chile was a finalist in the Davis Cup in 1976 but was defeated by 4 to 1 by Italy at the National Stadium in Santiago.

In 1973, playing in the Davis Cup against the United States, Patricio Cornejo

Patricio Cornejo

Patricio Cornejo is a retired Chilean professional tennis player of the 1970s. He competed at the 1975 Davis Cup with Jaime Fillol and played the longest Davis Cup rubber in terms of games, eventually losing to Stan Smith/Erik Van Dillen of the 9–7, 39–37, 6–8, 1–6, 3–6 in the 1973 American Zone...

and Jaime Fillol

Jaime Fillol

Jaime Fillol is a former tennis player from Chile. He played amateur and professional tennis in the 1960s and 1970s.Fillol was ranked as high as world number 14 in singles on the ATP Rankings and number 82 in doubles .In the Open era , Fillol won seven singles titles and 15 doubles titles...

won the longest set in the history of the Cup: 39-37 against the team of Stan Smith and Erik van Dillen.

Weightlifting

Chile has gained various medals in weightlifting in Pan American and Ibero American Games. The greatest Chilean participant in weightlifting is Cristián Escalante Carroza, the Pan American champion in the field of more than 105 kilos. The last medal achieved by Chile was in the 2007 Pan American Games. The federation that governs the sport in Chile is FECHIPE.

Fishing

Sport fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

began in Chile with the introduction of salmon species into the country at the end of the 19th Century — with great success since the salmon didn't encounter any large enemies or predators in Chile's cold and temperate waters. Subsequently the state, first as a social policy and then to promote aquaculture, played an active role in creating fish farms that released into rivers various species like rainbow trout, brown trout, brook trout; and anadromous species such as silver salmon, king salmon, and Atlantic salmon. As a result, a number of species have adapted well to the new environment.

There are no reliable statistics of the pastimes of Chileans, but it is believed that fishing is the third or fourth most popular hobby. Simple and low cost fishing gear is the most popular. The most popular bait used includes earthworms, fresh-water crab, shrimp, snails, small fish, and white beans. The more complex fishing gear has gained in popularity with imported rods and reels running less than 5,000 Chilean pesos, and fly fishing gear selling for less than 50,000 Chilean pesos. Fly fishing is the fastest growing sector in sport fishing in Chile. Tourists have come to know Chile as the destination for salmon fishing. The increase in tour guides for tourist fishing has been explosive — from only a few fishing lodges in the 1990s to over a dozen new lodges in the new century. Lawmakers and participants in sport fishing are working together to make new laws to help regulate the fishing tourism industry and ensure it's longevity.

Freshwater sport fishing mainly occurs from Region V of Valparaíso to the south of Chile, being particularly successful and rich in freshwater species from Region IX of Araucanía to Region XII of Magallanes and Antártica Chilena, and tourism development is mainly concentrated in the Araucanía.

Rowing

Chile made history in the sport of rowing

Rowing (sport)

Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...

when Christian Yantani and Miguel Ángel Cerda won the 2002 Rowing World Cup in Seville.

In 2005, Cerda and Felipe Leal won second place in the lightweight coxless trial in the World Rowing Championship in the Japanese city of Gifu. The following year, Chile won the team event in the South American Youth Rowing Championship in Paraguay. In the 2007 Pan American Games in Río de Janeiro the pair of Sorayua Jadue and María José Orellana won the gold medal; and Miguel Cerda and Felipe Leal won the bronze in the lightweight pairs event.

Rowing is practiced in different cities, the primary being Valdivia, Concepción and Valparaíso due to the abundant rivers and numerous rowing clubs. Currently, the city of Santiago is developing a strong rowing program, specifically in Carén Lake (located close to Pudahuel with direct access to public transportation) and in Lake Acuelo.

Sailing

Chile is currently one of the top countries in the world in the sport of sailing

Sailing (sport)

Sailing is a well organized and recognized sport.There is a broad variety of kinds of races and sailboats used for racing. Much racing is done around buoys or similar marks in protected waters, while some longer offshore races cross open water...

because of Alberto "Tito" González who has won five championships. In 2005 González was given the Best Athlete Award by the Circulo de Periodistas Deportivos (Sports Writers Circle) and in 2006 received the Chilean Presidents Award for best sportsman. Most recently, Gonzalaz won the gold medal in the Pan American Games in Río. Gonzalaz has been asked to be the Chile flag bearer in the opening ceremony of the Pan American Games in Canada. He also has titles in J/24

J/24

The J/24 is an International One-Design keelboat class as defined by the International Sailing Federation. The J/24 is a one design class created to fulfill the diverse needs of recreational sailors such as cruising, one design racing, day sailing and handicap racing.The J/24 is the world's most...

and other categories as well as several American titles.

The sport does not have a large number of participants, however another notable Chilean sport sailor is found in Matías de Solar — ranked third in International Laser

Laser (dinghy)

The International Laser Class sailboat, also called Laser Standard and the Laser One is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy. According the Laser Class Rules the boat may be sailed by either one or two people, though it is rarely sailed by two. The design, by Bruce Kirby, emphasizes...

Class — who has qualified in the Olympic Games.

Swimming

Swimming (sport)

Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

has enjoyed a long history in Chile. Historically the best Chilean swimmer was the well-known Víctor "Tiburón" Contreras, famous for his times over long distances, who set the world record for crossing the Straight of Gibraltar.

Currently the best male swimmers are Maximiliano Schnettler and Giancarlo Zolezzi who are among the top 25 swimmers in the world. Female swimmer Kristel Köbrich

Kristel Köbrich

Kristel Arianne Köbrich Schimpl is an Olympic long-distance freestyle swimmer from Chile. She was the country's flagbearer at the 2004 Olympics, and also swam at the 2008 Games....

has the best Chile national and South American records in the 800 meter and 1500 meter freestyle events. She was among the top 15 swimmers in the world in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and in 2007 she won 7th place in the World Swimming Championship in the 1500 meters race.

Winter sports

In the winter months, many Chileans participate in winter sports, especially skiing

Skiing

Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....

and snowboarding

Snowboarding

Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...

. Less than 35 kilometers from Satiago de Chile, ski resorts are located in El Colorado, Farellones, La Parva

La Parva

La Parva is a town and ski resort located about northeast of the Chilean capital of Santiago. It is in the middle ridge of the "3 Valleys" resorts that also includes El Colorado and Valle Nevado....

y Valle Nevado

Valle Nevado

Valle Nevado is a popular ski resort located 46 kilometers east of Santiago, Chile.Valle Nevado is one of South America's most modern ski resorts...

. In Valparaíso Region is the ski resort of Portillo, one of the oldest in the country and the organizer of the 1966 Alpine World Ski Championships. Other major ski centers are Chapa Verde, Termas de Chillán

Termas de Chillán

Termas de Chillán is a town located 82 km east of the Chilean city of Chillán. It has a ski center and three hotels.-Ski center:The ski resort is located 1,650 meters above sea level and has 11 lifts serving 28 marked trails, and a total of 35 km runs over 10,000 hectares of...

, Antuco, Corralco, Los Arenales, Las Araucarias, Volcán Villarrica, Antillanca

Antillanca

Antillanca is a ski resort in the Puyehue National Park in southern Chile. It is on the slope of the Casablanca Volcano. The nearest city is Osorno, 98 kilometers away....

, Cerro El Fraile and Cerro Mirador. In addition, Chilean mountain climbers have reached major summits such as Mount Everest

Mount Everest

Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...

.

While the country has many conditions for winter sports, Chile has never won a medal at the Winter Olympics.

History

Athletics

Track and field

Triathlon

Boxing

Equestrian

Fencing

Golf

Gymnastics

Handball

Karate

Taekwondo

Cycling

Horse racing

Auto racing

Motorcycle Racing

Rodeo

Practical Shooting

Shotgun shooting

Table Tennis

Baseball

Basketball

Cricket

Football

Roller Hockey

Polo

Rugby union

Volleyball

Tennis

Weightlifting

Fishing

Rowing

Sailing

Swimming

Winter sports

See also