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Chile has been represented in the Summer Olympics since its inauguration in 1896. Runner Luis Subercaseaux is the sole representative for Chile in the 1896 Summer Games held in Athens, Greece. He ran the 100, 400 and 800 meters though he didn't win any medals.

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Chile then missed the next three Summer Games returning in the 1912 Stockholm Games with fourteen athletes. Chile then went on to attend the 1920 and 1924 Summer Games still with the dream of Olympic medal out of reach. But in the 1928 Summer Games in Amsterdam, all that changes when runner Manuel Plaza won the silver in the men's marathon. He became the first Chilean Olympic medalist in its 28 years of being a member of the Olympics.

Chile had wait 24 years before they could taste Olympic honors. In the 1952 Helsinki Summer Games, equestrians Oscar Cristi won the silver in the jumping individual competition and the team of Ricardo Echeverria, Oscar Cristi and César Mendoza also took the second place in the jumping team competition.

The next Summer Games was better for Chile when Marlene Ahrens took the silver in the women's javelin throw while boxer Ramón Tapia also won silver in the men's middleweight division. Fellow boxers Claudio Barrientos and Carlos Lucas both won the bronze in the men's bantamweight and men's light heavyweight divisions respectively. Chile will endure a 32 year dry spell until they win another Olympic medal.

Since the 1984 Summer Games, Chile has had a perfect attendance to the Summer Games. Chile is also one of the few Latin countries that regularly participate in the Winter Olympics and they have only missed two meetings since they first joined in 1948.

Unfortunately, despite their far better trend of participation in the Winter Games, they are yet to take home a single medal from the Winter Olympics.

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Related Pages

• Chile at the Winter Olympics
• List of all countries that have participated at the Olympic Games.
• About sport in Chile