Who is Marlene Ahrens, Chilean Javelin Olympic Winner, honoured by Google Doodle?

The Google Doodle of today is honouring Marlene Ahrens, a renowned Chilean Javelin athlete who achieved great success. The Google Doodle of today is honouring Marlene Ahrens, a renowned Chilean javelin athlete who achieved great success. She is an exceptional athlete who won a silver medal at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympic Games in the javelin throw. Here is what you need to know about her. 

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Celebrating Marlene Ahrens https://t.co/f9POaydlIY pic.twitter.com/jI61AixgEH

— Google Doodles (All) (@gksearch) November 28, 2023

Early Life

Marlene Ahrens Ostertag-Ebensperger was born on July 27, 1933, in Concepción, Chile. She was the daughter of German immigrants. Her family moved from Concepción to the Aconcagua Valley, where she developed an interest in sports at a young age. Ahrens showed great promise in athletics, particularly in javelin throwing. Her natural talent quickly propelled her to become one of the most promising athletes in South America. 

Summer Olympics

In the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia, she was the only female athlete on the team and the Chilean flag bearer. She entered the javelin throw competition without any prior training and won the silver medal with a throw of 50.38 metres. She became the first Chilean woman to win a medal at the Olympics. The same year, she won a gold medal at the South American Athletics Championship. 

She then went on to win gold in the Pan American Games in 1959, which were hosted in Chicago, and 1963, which were held in São Paulo. She also carried the flag at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, even though she was unsuccessful in winning a medal. Ahrens was forced to retire and was not allowed to compete in the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 1964, following a dispute with the Chilean media. 

Other Sports

Ahrens added five gold medals to her tally from tournaments in South America. After javelin, she tried her hand at tennis and became one of the best tennis players regionally. In 1967, she won the mixed doubles competition in Chile. 

She had a knee injury shortly after and committed her life to equestrian sports. She participated in the Mar del Plata Pan American Games in 1995 and retired from horseriding at the age of 79. 

Marlene Ahrens was truly one of the most versatile athletes to have been born. She is also the grandmother of Marlén Eguiguren, a prominent Chilean journalist. 

On June 17, 2023, she died of heart failure at the age of 86. 

You watch the moment when Ahrens made history at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics here: