South American Games 2026: Brazil show promise in open water | OneFootball

Matheus de Freitas and Ana Marcela Cunha were the winners in the men’s and women’s events, respectively. The lake at Parque del Sur in the provincial capital provided the ideal setting for an exciting race.

A competition deeply tied to Santa Fe’s DNA, open-water swimming put on a great show for the public, who followed from the natural stands around the lake at Parque del Sur in the city of Santa Fe.

South America’s best competed for the medals and for spots in the 2027 Pan American Games, which will be held in Lima, Peru. With the lake temperature at around 16 degrees, Brazil took gold in both events.

The men’s race was the first to start in the morning. With a tremendous final sprint and a time of 1 hour 47 minutes 53 seconds, Brazilian champion Matheus de Freitas was the first to complete the 10-kilometer race. The podium was rounded out by Ecuador’s David Farinango (1 hour 47 minutes 57 seconds) and another Brazilian, Víctor Rodrígues, in third with a time of 1 hour 48 minutes 4 seconds.

The Argentines Ivo Cassini and Joaquín Moreno finished in fourth and fifth place with times of 1 hour 48 minutes 25 seconds and 1 hour 49 minutes 4 seconds, respectively.

Imwinkelried made the podium and Giordanino finished fourth

Five minutes after the men’s start, it was the women’s turn. And there, there was “local talent”: Candela Giordanino and Romina Imwinkelried, both from Santa Fe. The winner of the race was the expected favorite, current Olympic and world open-water champion Ana Marcela Cunha, with a time of 1 hour 56 minutes 58 seconds.

The Brazilian was fourth over the first three laps, then gradually, with a steady pace, became the first to reach the finish line. Cunha’s fellow Brazilian Viviane Eichelberger took second place. Meanwhile, the third spot on the podium—and the last of the available berths for the 2027 Pan American Games—went to Romina Imwinkelried, a native of San Jerónimo Norte.

Romina’s time was 1 hour 57 minutes 4 seconds. One tenth later, the other swimmer from Santa Fe, Candela Giordanino, arrived, wrapping up a great performance by the locals.

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