The following are some famous athletes, players and other sports figures in Bolivia. You can read about more famous Bolivians by visiting the home page of our Famous People from Bolivia section where you'll find many other categories. You can also ask questions about any famous Bolivian person or you can also add another famous person from Bolivia.

Maria Fernanda Álvarez
A tennis player born in Santa Cruz in 1989, this professional tennis player has achieved the highest International Tennis Federation ranking among Bolivians, at number 15 in the Juniors category in 2007. She has won various national and international singles and doubles tournaments. In 2013 she made history for Bolivia by winning a WTA match in doubles tennis. In April 2014, Maria Fernanda ranked well in the Fed Cup in Puerto Rico. Photo Source

Geovana Irusta
A racewalker born in Chuquisaca, she is considered the best Bolivian athlete in the 20-kilometer specialty for which she has earned many medals. She took second place at the Latin American level and was number 16 in worldwide competitions. Geovana Irusta represented Bolivia in the Olympics in 1996 in Atlanta, 2000 in Sydney, 2004 in Athens, and 2008 in Pekin. This famous athlete then moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina where she works as a seamstress when she is not in training. Photo Source

Bernardo Guarachi
A mountain climber and guide, born in Patacamaya (La Paz), he is another of our famous athletes. During the over 30 years he’s been a climber he’s climbed to the highest summits in the Andes as well as the highest peak in North America, Mount McKinley, and the fifth highest in the Himalayas (Makalu). He is the first Bolivian, and the first indigenous Latin American, to have ever climbed Mount Everest, which he did in 1998. Photo Source

Paulo Víctor Aguilera
A BMX racer born in Santa Cruz in 1991, he has been the Latin American BMX champion fourteen times, the world champion five times, and the national champion innumerable times in this sport, which he has practiced since he was 3 years old. In January of 2013 he was accused by several dozen people of borrowing money and not returning it to them and was arrested. Photo Source

Marco Antonio Etcheverry
A soccer player and trainer, he was born in Santa Cruz in 1970. He was schooled at the Tachuichi Aguilera Soccer Academy in Santa Cruz and played for various national and South American teams before becoming a member of the U.S. team DC United, for which he played eight years until retiring in 2006. His nickname is El Diablo (the Devil) due to his ability to break through his opponents’ lines of defense. He was one of the members of the national team that participated in the US World Cup in 1994, and currently is a trainer and founder of a Fútbol 7 athletic club. He is one of Bolivia's most famous athletes. Photo Source

Erwin Sánchez
A soccer player and trainer born in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in 1969. Like many of the country’s outstanding soccer players, he trained at the Tahuichi Academy. He played for two national teams before moving to Portugal where he played until he retired, and where he won various national championships with his teams. He was also a member of the 1994 national team. He owes his nickname “Platini” to the similarities between his very strong kicking style, and that of French player Michel Platini. Photo Source

Xavier Azkargorta
A soccer trainer from Spain, he was his native country’s youngest coach at age 29 and led several teams. He is known for having led the Bolivian national team to qualify for the US World Cup in 1994. He went on to coach the Chilean team and other Asian soccer clubs and also worked as an athletic director in Spanish clubs, where he continues today. Photo Source

Julio César Baldivieso
A soccer player and coach, born in Cochabamba in 1971, he was a member of the 1994 National Team that represented Bolivia in the US World Cup, and vice-champions in the Copa América in 1997. Long after that famous team had lost its outstanding stars to retirement, he was still playing as captain; and he’s also one of the few of Bolivia's famous athletes whose talent caused big-name international clubs to notice him, in his case a Japanese one. He moved to Japan where he played for years until his retirement. Back in Bolivia, he’s been working as a soccer coach for local clubs in the first division and has coached his home city’s club Wilstermann to winning the national soccer championship. Photo Source

Mariel Diamond and Carola Nostas
Both women are natives of Santa Cruz, and participated in professional fitness and bodybuilding competitions nationwide and internationally. Diamond was Latin American Fitness Champion in 2000, and also participated in European and World championships, and Nostas (pictured on the left in this photo) has won the South American Fitness and Bodybuilding Championship twice, in 2003 and 2011. Her best ranking worldwide was 4th place in the Arnold Classic Europe competition. Photo Source

Chavo Salvatierra
Juan Carlos Salvatierra (nicknamed "Chavo"), is a motorcycle racer from Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and competes in the 450cc category, in which he’s won several rally races in Bolivia and other countries. His most distinguished participation was in the South American stages of the world-famous Dakkar Rally through the Chilean and Argentinian routes, and he also held a good position in the Rally of the Pharaohs in Egypt, in rallies held in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Sardinia. His biggest achievement is to have won the World Championship in crosscountry motorcycle racing during the Desafio Ruta 40 competition hosted by the International Motorcycle Racing Federation in Argentina in 2014. Photo Source

Eduardo “Happy” Peredo
A Santa Cruz native, this rally racecar driver has won numerous competitions in the local rally championships, as well as winning four championships in the CODASUR national rally races. He is also a two-time South American Champion after winning the CODASUR South American Rally in the RC2N category. Worldwide, his best ranking is a 4th place in the World Rally Championship in Argentina in early 2014. Photo Source

Katherine Moreno
A professional swimmer from Santa Cruz, she is the athlete that’s had more successes in national championships, in which she’s been competing since she was eleven years old. She has won 1,014 medals and set 126 nationwide speed records in swimming. Although she has also competed in international championships both in South America and beyond, Katherine (pictured on the right in this photo) has never been World Champion despite participating five times, but she has been South American champion three times in a row, her highest record in championships. She also qualified to represent the country in three Olympic Games before her retirement. She is currently a swimming instructor and coach at her own swimming club in Santa Cruz. Photo Source