Great Latinamerican Athletes: Argentina edition

Despite being known on the international stage mostly for the quality of its soccer players, Argentina at the sports level is much more than Messi. Here we look at the best sportsmen and sportswomen from the southern country that have shined in recent years. 

Paula Pareto

Paula Pareto, the first Argentine woman to win a gold medal. She did it at the last edition of the Olympics. She is a 34-year-old judoka that has already won 2 Olympic medals, the other being a bronze one in the 2008 Olympic games. She also has participated in 13 Pan-American Games, finishing first on four occasions. In 2015, she was crowned champion at the World Judo Championships. 

Cecilia Carranza Saroli

Sailing, an unusual Olympic sport, is the specialty of this Argentine woman, who won the gold medal in the category Nacra 17 alongside Santiago Lange at the 2016 edition of the games. She has described herself as “one of the best five female sailors in the world” in an interview for Página 12. In 2011 she also won a gold medal at the Panamerican Games. 

Also read: Great Latinamerican Athletes: Venezuela Edition

Diego Schwartzman

Currently the 9th best singles player in the ATP rankings. Diego has had an impressive 2020. Recently, for example, he beat Rafael Nadal at the Italian Open. With three ATP titles, this 28-year-old player became the first Argentinian to participate in the Masters since the year 2013. His short stature (1.70 m) has earned him the nickname “el Peque” (Shorty in english). 

Delfina Pignatiello

The argentine athlete with the most promising future, Delfina was in 2017 the winner of a Premio Olimpia, an award given by the Círculo de Periodistas Deportivos in Argentina to the best sportsperson of each year. That 2017, at just 17 years old, she got two gold and one silver medal at the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships, breaking two championship records and three national records. But that's not all, in that same year she also won three gold medals at the South American Youth Games.  Keeping up the pace, in  2019, she won another three gold medals at the Pan-American Games in the 400, 800 and 1500 meters freestyle. At just 20 years old, she has a huge future ahead of her.