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Uruguay has been part of the International Olympics Committee for more than 100 years, and despite our small population Uruguayan athletes have won ten medals, with two gold medals in football—obviously!
Uruguay doesn’t participate in the Winter Olympics—hard to snowboard when there’s no snow, or to ice skate without ice—but we’ve had a remarkable and almost uninterrupted participation in the Summer Olympics. This year, there are 25 hopefuls going for gold at the Paris Olympics and some still have chance to bring home medals. Athletics, canoeing, cycling, judo, rowing, rugby sevens, sailing, swimming and taekwondo are the disciplines where you can catch a Uruguayan athlete.
Guru’Guay’s got all the bios and the dates of each Uruguayan sports champion’s debut events at the Paris Olympics.
Santiago Catrofe competes in cross country running and track and field. Born in Uruguay in 1999 but raised in Spain since 2002. He had a remarkable performance in the 2019 Pan American Games, attaining fourth place, and the 2021 South American Championships in Athletics, where he won the bronze medal.
🏃🏻 Watch him compete in the men’s 5000 metres at the 2024 Summer Olympics on August 10.
María Pía Fernández Moreira is a middle-distance runner. Born in 1995, she holds the current national record in the 1500 metres. She has won multiple medals at regional level, among them a gold medal in the 2024 Ibero-American Championships and the 2019 South American Championships.
🏃🏻♀️ Watch her compete in the women’s 1500 metres at the 2024 Summer Olympics on August 6.
Emiliano Lasa Sánchez is a long jumper. Born in 1990, he holds the current national record. He won a bronze medal at the 2015 Pan American Games, as well as several others on continental level. Along with the taekwondo practitioner María Sara Grippoli, he was one of the Uruguay flag bearers to the París 2024 Olympic Games.
🏃🏻 Watch him compete in the men’s long jump at the 2024 Summer Olympics on August 4.
Matías Otero is a sprint kayaker. Born in 1998, he qualified to the Olympics through winning gold in the Pan American Canoe Sprint. This is the first time since 2004 Uruguayan canoeists qualified a boat. He’s been living and training in Spain for the past years, where he competes under Kayak Tudense of Pontevedra.
🚣🏻 Watch him compete in the Men’s K-1 1000 m sprint on August 7.
Antonio Eric Fagúndez Lima is a Uruguayan cyclist. Born in 1998, he currently rides for UCI ProTeam Burgos BH. He’s placed among the top cyclists in many races in Spain, where his team is based, and got third place in road race in the 2023 Pan American Games.
🚴🏻 Watch him compete in the men’s individual road race event at the 2024 Summer Olympics on August 3.
Alain Mikael Aprahamian Bakerdjian is a Uruguayan judoka of Armenian descent. Born in 1988, his brother Pablo is also a pro judoka. He qualified via continental quota based on Olympic point rankings. He competed in the Men’s 81 kg event in Judo at the 2024 Summer Olympics held on 30 July 2024, where he lost against Takanori Nagase, current No. 2 in the world and double Olympic champion at under 81 kg, winning gold in both 2021 and 2024 and bronze in 2016.
Bruno Cetraro Berriolo is a rower. Born in 1998, he began rowing after his father saw Rodolfo Collazo competing at the 2008 Summer Olympics on television. Along with Déborah Rodríguez, Cetraro served as flagbearer for Uruguay at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He initially won the gold medal at the 2019 Pan American Games with his team but was stripped of the title due to one of his teammates incurring a doping violation.
🚣🏻 He managed to qualify for the finals which will be broadcasted on August 3.
Uruguay national Rugby Sevens team or Tero Sevens as they’re known qualified for the Olympics by winning the gold medal at the 2023 South American Olympic Qualifying Tournament, marking the nation’s debut in the sport. Baltazar Amaya, Felipe Arcos Pérez, Diego Ardao, Bautista Basso, Tomás Etcheverry, Ignacio Facciolo, Juan González, Valentín Grille, Guillermo Lijtenstein, James McCubbin, Juan Manuel Tafernaberry, Mateo Vinals, Koba Brazionis and Dante Soto comprised the squad that placed 11th out of 12 teams that competed. They beat only Japan but were only narrowly defeated by Fiji, France, the US and Kenya in surprisingly tight matches that show Uruguay is becoming a worthy participant in international rugby championships.
Dolores “Lola” Moreira Fraschini is a sailor who races the Laser Radial. Born in 1999, she’s been Uruguay’s flagbearer in three different tournaments: the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics, the 2015 Pan American Games, and the 2016 Summer Olympics. She was crowned champion in the Girls’ category of the 2016 Youth Sailing World Championships. After winning the silver medal in her specialty at the 2015 Pan American Games, she became the youngest Pan American medalist in Uruguay’s history.
⛵️ Watch her compete in the ILCA6 event at the 2024 Summer Olympics on August 1.
Hernán Umpierre and Fernando Diz are sailors competing in the 49er category. The duo took the gold in the 49er European Championship earlier this year. They made it to the medal race for the 49er class in sailing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which began on August 1, and after a strong start by the Uruguayan sailors, the race was interrupted due to a lack of wind.
⛵️ Once the race is rescheduled, watch the promising duo who qualified 9th out of 20 teams.
Leo Nolles is a swimmer. Born in 2003, he moved to the US to pursue his swimming career enrolling at Northern Michigan University on a sports scholarship. Featured in Swimming World Magazine due to his unique story and outstanding performance for a newcomer, he represented Uruguay in the 100 metre freestyle event at the 2024 Summer Olympics. He ranked 47 out of 79 competitors and did not advance to the semifinals.
Nicole Frank is a Uruguayan swimmer. Born in 2003 to a PE teacher, her older brother Andy is also a swimmer. Her grandma Angelika Rädche Hartwig was also a swimmer and qualified for the 1940 Summer Olympics, which weren’t held due to World War Two. Swimming for Florida International University, where she studies and trains, she won the gold in 400m at the 2023 American Athletic Conference—breaking the freshman record in that event—and a silver medal in the 200m breaststroke.
🏊🏻♀️ Watch her compete in the women’s 200 metres medley at the 2024 Summer Olympics on August 2.
María Sara Grippoli Gagliardo is the first Olympic taekwondo practitioner from Uruguay. Born in 2004, the young athlete won bronze at the 2022 South American Youth Games in the 49 kg category. She also won gold at the 2024 Pan American Taekwondo Olympic Qualification Tournament, thus qualifying her for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
🥋 Watch her compete in the women’s 49 kg taekwondo tournament on August 7.
Photos by Los Juegos Olímpicos on X.
Namasté — Vegetarian restaurant in Montevideo
Namasté is more than just a vegetarian restaurant in Montevideo. This colourful, family-run spot has been serving vegetarian and vegan food since 2008. And the food is only part of the experience. Come for a relaxed meal, stay for the atmosphere, the friendly service and the chance to slow down for a while.
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Estancia Los Plátanos – Authentic 6th generation ranch
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Home to Uruguay’s biggest rose collection, this 200 year west Uruguay estancia is the perfect destination for outdoor adventure or a wedding.
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Vamoooo Uruguay nomaaaaa!!!!