Sylvia Úrsula Poll Ahrens (born September 24, 1970 in

Managua, Nicaragua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...

) is an Olympic medalist and a national record holding swimmer from

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

. At the 1988 Olympics, she won Costa Rica's first Olympic medal, when she garnered the silver in the women's 200 free.Silvia Poll
sports-reference.com As of 2009, she and her younger sister Claudia are Costa Rica's only Olympic medalists. Sylvia also swam for Costa Rica at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

. She also won a total number of 8 medals at the

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas ...

; and 2 of her times from those Games still stand as Costa Rican Records in 2009 (100 free and 100 back). Poll was born in Managua, Nicaragua. Her parents were Germans and they settled in Nicaragua where Sylvia and her younger sister Claudia were born. After the

1972 Nicaragua earthquake The 1972 Nicaragua earthquake occurred at 12:29:44 a.m. local time (06:29:44 UTC) on 23 December near Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. It had a moment magnitude of 6.3 and a maximum MSK intensity of IX (''Destructive''). The epicenter w ...

and rising political tensions, Sylvia's parents decided to move south to Costa Rica only shortly after Claudia's birth. She, her sister Claudia, and their mother are not related to Marlene Ahrens, another Olympic athlete and medalist and another Latin American-born daughter of German settlers. Sylvia Poll is a famous backstroker and freestyle swimmer for

, who won the silver medal in the Swimming at the 1988 Summer Olympics Women's 200 meter freestyle at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Seoul, South Korea Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. Her silver medal was the first medal ever for a Costa Rican athlete. At the 1986 Central American and Caribbean Games she set the Games Records in the women's 200 and 400 frees (2:02.80 and 4:17.98). Both records would last 20 years, until her sister Claudia bettered the times at the 2006 Games. Also at the '86 CACs, Silvia set the Games Record in the 100 m and 200 m backstroke (1:04.43, 2:19.32) that also stood until 2006. Sylvia Poll is now a member of the ‘Champions for Peace’ club, a group of 54 famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by

Peace and Sport Peace and Sport (also known as "L’Organisation pour la Paix par le Sport") is a sports organization based in Monaco under the patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco. Ivorian Football player, footballer Didier Drogba became the organization's ...

, a

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

-based international organization.Peace and Sport
/ref>

References

www.databaseolympics.com

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poll, Sylvia 1970 births Living people Nicaraguan people of German descent Sportspeople from Managua Costa Rican people of German descent Costa Rican female backstroke swimmers Costa Rican female freestyle swimmers Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1987 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1991 Pan American Games Olympic silver medalists for Costa Rica Olympic swimmers for Costa Rica Nicaraguan emigrants to Costa Rica Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for Costa Rica Pan American Games silver medalists for Costa Rica Pan American Games bronze medalists for Costa Rica Olympic silver medalists in swimming Pan American Games gold medalists in swimming Pan American Games silver medalists in swimming Pan American Games bronze medalists in swimming Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Costa Rica Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in swimming Competitors at the 1986 Central American and Caribbean Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games

See also

References

External links