The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Uruguay

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This page contains a list of the greatest Uruguayan Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 13 of which were born in Uruguay. This makes Uruguay the birth place of the 83rd most number of Athletes behind Puerto Rico, and Montenegro.

Top 10

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

Photo of William Jones

1. William Jones (1925 - 2014)

With an HPI of 54.90, William Jones is the most famous Uruguayan Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages on wikipedia.

William Jones (6 December 1924 – 7 August 2014) was a Uruguayan rower who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics. In 1948 he won the bronze medal with his partner Juan Rodríguez in the double sculls event. He died in his sleep at his residence in Inverness, Florida, at the age of 89 on 7 August 2014.

Photo of Juan Rodríguez

2. Juan Rodríguez (1928 - 2019)

With an HPI of 53.25, Juan Rodríguez is the 2nd most famous Uruguayan Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Juan A. Rodríguez Iglesias (9 July 1928 – 27 September 2019) was a rower from Uruguay, who represented his native country twice at the Summer Olympics (1948 and 1952). In both tournaments he won the bronze medal in the men's doubles sculls event. He was born in Dolores, Uruguay.

Photo of Guillermo Douglas

3. Guillermo Douglas (1909 - 1967)

With an HPI of 50.48, Guillermo Douglas is the 3rd most famous Uruguayan Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Guillermo Rafael Douglas Sabattini (January 1909, in Paysandú, Uruguay – 1967) was a rower from Uruguay. He competed for Uruguay in the 1932 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, United States in the single sculls event where he finished in third place.

Photo of Miguel Seijas

4. Miguel Seijas (b. 1930)

With an HPI of 49.71, Miguel Seijas is the 4th most famous Uruguayan Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Miguel Ángel Seijas Cuestas (born 20 May 1930) is a retired rower from Uruguay who represented his country at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. There he won the bronze medal with Juan Rodríguez in the men's doubles sculls event. Seijas also competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics. He was born in Montevideo.

Photo of Milton Wynants

5. Milton Wynants (b. 1972)

With an HPI of 42.22, Milton Wynants is the 5th most famous Uruguayan Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Milton Ariel Wynants Vázquez (born March 29, 1972, in Paysandú) is a racing cyclist from Uruguay, who was affiliated with the Veloz Club Sanducero. Wynants competed in four consecutive Summer Olympics for his native country (From Atlanta 1996 to Beijing 2008). He won the silver medal in the men's points race at his second Olympic appearance, in Sydney, Australia (2000), the first Olympic medal for Uruguay in 36 years and the only one since. He has collected medals at each Pan American Games between 1995 and 2007: silver at the Points Race that edition, bronze at the Points Race in 1999, gold at the Points Race and Individual Road Race in 2003, and bronze at the Points Race in 2007. Wynants competed with Tomás Margalef in the 2002 Pan American Championships, winning the madison bronze medal.

Photo of Adrian Carambula

6. Adrian Carambula (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 35.45, Adrian Carambula is the 6th most famous Uruguayan Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 11 different languages.

Adrian Ignacio Carambula Raurich (born 16 March 1988) is a Uruguay-born Italian beach volleyball player. Born in Uruguay, he played football alongside Luis Suárez as a boy, until his family moved to Florida when he was a teenager. He qualifies to represent Italy through his maternal grandmother, originally from Turin. He is known as "Mr Skyball" for his unique serving style, in which he hits the ball high. The theme from the James Bond film Skyfall plays when he serves. Ranked third in the world as a pair, Carambula partnered Alex Ranghieri at the 2016 Olympics. Since 2018, Carambula plays together with Enrico Rossi.

Photo of Emiliano Lasa

7. Emiliano Lasa (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 29.41, Emiliano Lasa is the 7th most famous Uruguayan Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 10 different languages.

Emiliano Lasa Sánchez (born January 25, 1990) is a Uruguayan track and field athlete who competes in the long jump. He won a bronze medal at the 2015 Pan American Games, as well as several others on continental level. His personal best in the event is 8.28 m (27 ft 1+3⁄4 in) which is the current national record. The Uruguayan Olympic Committee chose him and TKD practitioner María Sara Grippoli to be the flag bearers for Uruguay at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Photo of Déborah Rodríguez

8. Déborah Rodríguez (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 28.35, Déborah Rodríguez is the 8th most famous Uruguayan Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 12 different languages.

Déborah Lizeth Rodríguez Guelmo (born December 2, 1992) is a Uruguayan athlete and fashion model. She is also the twin sister of football player Ángel Rodríguez of River Plate Montevideo.

Photo of Elizabeth Anyanacho

9. Elizabeth Anyanacho (b. 1999)

With an HPI of 27.62, Elizabeth Anyanacho is the 9th most famous Uruguayan Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 9 different languages.

Elizabeth Oluchi Anyanacho (born 9 April 1999) is a Nigerian taekwondo athlete. She participated at the 2019 African Games, winning a bronze medal at 67 kg. She qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics, although she had not intended to compete at the Olympics until 2024. She would have been the first Nigerian to compete in her sport for 16 years if the Olympics had not been postponed. The previous competitor was Princess Dudu in 2004.

Photo of María Pía Fernández

10. María Pía Fernández (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 27.25, María Pía Fernández is the 10th most famous Uruguayan Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 8 different languages.

María Pía Fernández Moreira (born 1 April 1995) is a Uruguayan middle-distance runner. She has won multiple medals at regional level. Her personal best of 4:09.45 is the current national record in the 1500 metres.

People

Pantheon has 13 people classified as Uruguayan athletes born between 1909 and 2000. Of these 13, 10 (76.92%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Uruguayan athletes include Miguel Seijas, Milton Wynants, and Adrian Carambula. The most famous deceased Uruguayan athletes include William Jones, Juan Rodríguez, and Guillermo Douglas. As of April 2024, 13 new Uruguayan athletes have been added to Pantheon including William Jones, Juan Rodríguez, and Guillermo Douglas.

Living Uruguayan Athletes

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Deceased Uruguayan Athletes

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Newly Added Uruguayan Athletes (2024)

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