Santa Fe gears up for the 2026 World Junior Open Water Championships | OneFootball

For the first time in history, Argentina will host a World Aquatics international championship, and the lake at Parque del Sur will be the venue for the competition. The sporting event will begin this Thursday in the provincial capital and will bring together 300 athletes from around the world.

The city of Santa Fe will become the epicenter of international swimming from September 3 to 6, 2026, when it hosts the World Junior Open Water Championships. This event will mark a historic milestone, as it will be the first time a World Aquatics competition is held on Argentine soil. The event is being organized by the Provincial Government, the Municipality of Santa Fe, the Argentine Confederation of Aquatic Sports (CADDA), and the Santa Fe Swimming Federation (FESANA).

The chosen venue is the natural circuit at Parque del Sur, with the main base at Club Náutico El Quillá. There, in the freshwater lake located next to the Salado River, more than 250 young rising stars between the ages of 14 and 19 from over 40 countries will compete.

The action will begin on the morning of Thursday the 3rd with the main 10-kilometer race, first in the men’s event and then in the women’s. Representatives from Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Chinese Taipei, Curaçao, Ecuador, Egypt, Slovakia, Spain, the United States, France, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Namibia, New Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Russia, South Africa, Uruguay, and Venezuela have already been confirmed for this distance.

The schedule continues

On Friday the 4th, the morning starts with the 7.5-kilometer races (for swimmers aged 16 and 17) and the 5-kilometer races (14–15 age group). Then on Saturday the 5th, the innovative Knockout Sprint event will take place, an elimination format that begins with 3 kilometers, qualifies half of the athletes for a 1,500-meter stage, and determines the winners in a final 500-meter sprint. The closing day will be Sunday the 6th starting at 10:00 with the mixed relay events (4×1500 m).

In addition to bringing together the top talents in the discipline, the championship will serve as the official test event for the open water competitions of the 2026 South American Games, which will be held at the same Santa Fe venue from September 12 to 26.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.