Colombia’s Martha Araújo delivered one of the best performances of the South American Championships, the oldest area championships in athletics, held in Mar del Plata, Argentina, on 25-27 April.

In autumn conditions, sometimes affected by strong winds, the 28-year-old from Tumaco, who was seventh at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, produced an inspired competition by achieving the second-best performance in South American history, retaining her title from 2023.

 

Her tally of 6396 points on Saturday and Sunday (26-27 April) was slightly aided by the breeze, but still remarkable: 13.13 at 100m hurdles (2.5m/s), 1.73m at high jump, 13.55m at shot put, 24.43 at 200m (2.3m/s), 6.55m at long jump (1.4m/s), 47.62m at javelin and 2:17.38 at 800m. This is the sixth time that Araújo, who holds the South American record with 6426 points from 2024, has surpassed the 6000-point barrier.

 

Her fellow Colombian Natalia Linares also performed very well, leaping 6.81m (2.6m/s) on Sunday (27) to obtain the first long jump title for her nation. Her compatriot Carlos Sanmartín also had a successful weekend by winning the 3000m steeplechase in 8:37.79 on Saturday and the 5000m in 13:54.34 on Sunday.

Jucilene de Lima from Brazil produced one of the top performances for her nation by taking victory in the javelin with a championship record of 62.32m on Sunday. It was de Lima’s second title, after her triumph in 2015.

The javelin was highly anticipated and didn’t disappoint. Ecuador’s Juleisy Angulo delivered the first championship record of the event in round one with 62.25m, also a national record.

De Lima responded in round three with the farthest throw of the day and nothing changed after that moment, even following fine throws in round five (61.67m by de Lima and 61.09m by Angulo). Another Brazilian, Daniella Nisimura, was third with 60.12m, a personal best, while Uruguay’s Manuela Rotundo was fourth with 56.48m. Colombian María Lucelly Murillo was fifth with 54.63m.

The 19-year-old Rotundo was far from replicating her 64.17m performance, obtained in Gainesville, Florida, on 4 April. Murillo, champion in 2011, was another pre-event favourite, having reached the final at the 2023 World Athletics Championships with her personal best of 62.72m.

Good performances from Brazilian athletes came from the victories of Willian Dourado in the shot put (20.65m), José Fernando Santana in the decathlon (7847 points), Tatiane Raquel da Silva in the 3000m steeplechase (9:40.07; her fourth consecutive title in the event) and Izabela Rodrigues da Silva in the discus (62.87m; her third successive victory).

Gómez delivers for Argentina

One of the finest moments for the host nation came when Joaquín Gómez took victory in the hammer on Friday (25) with 77.69m from his fourth attempt, setting a national and championship record. Chileans Gabriel Kehr (76.90m) and Humberto Mansilla (76.61m) completed the podium with performances that were also better than the previous record.

Hammer champion Joaquín Gómez at the South American Championships (© Oscar Munoz Badilla)

Gómez, with his first title, became the 12th Argentine athlete to triumph at the event, and the first since 2011. His father, Daniel, his coach, won it in 1977 and 1985. Venezuelan Rosa Rodríguez took victory in the women’s competition with 71.04m, obtaining the fourth title of her career and becoming the most successful athlete at the event. Peruvian Ximena Zorrilla was second with 67.52m.

Martina Weil achieved one of the highlights for Chile. The world indoor 400m finalist retained the title with 51.14 in very windy conditions. Colombian Evelis Aguilar, the former South American heptathlon record-holder, seemed dominant but Weil was much stronger in the last 50 metres and Aguilar placed second in 51.26.

Aguilar impressed in the heats with a championship record of 50.63, her best performance at sea level. Aguilar had clocked 49.80 in Bogotá on 6 April, becoming the second South American to break 50 seconds after the 49.64 by Ximena Restrepo, Weil’s mother.

Claudio Romero and Martín Sáenz de Santamaría, also from Chile, delivered fine victories. Romero took the discus title with his 64.13m effort from round four, a championship record. Brazilian Wellinton Fernandes da Cruz Filho was second with 62.09m, while Colombian Mauricio Ortega, the South American record-holder, was third with 61.91m.

Sáenz de Santamaría won the 110m hurdles in 13.51 (1.0m/s), just 0.02 off his own national record, obtaining the first victory for his country at the distance since 1981.

Brazilians Felipe Bardi dos Santos and Vitória Cristina Rosa won the always coveted 100m races in 9.99 (0.4m/s) and 11.21 (1.2m/s) respectively. At 200m, Paraguay’s César Almirón and Ecuador’s Nicole Caicedo were victors. Almirón achieved a significant feat, becoming the third Paraguayan to win a South American title, and the first in a track event, with his 20.50 performance (1.6m/s). Caicedo clocked 23.07 (2.6m/s) to earn her country’s sole gold of the weekend.

The 20km race walking events, very strong in the area, delivered fine results. Brazilian Viviane Lyra won the women’s race in a championship record of 1:28:30 for the first ever title by a Brazilian in this event, while Peruvian Luis Henry Campos retained his 2023 crown in 1:21:26.

Brazil, once again, dominated the event, obtaining 52 medals (20 gold, 19 silver and 13 bronze). Colombia was second on the medal table with 17 (7, 7, 3), followed by Chile (5, 2, 7), Argentina (3, 4, 6), Venezuela (3, 4, 5), Peru (2, 2, 2), Uruguay (2, 1, 1), Ecuador (1, 5, 4), Panama (1, 1, 1), Paraguay (1, 0, 1) and Guyana (0, 1, 1).

This is the second time that Mar del Plata has hosted the event, after being the location for the 1997 event. The coastal city also received the 1995 Pan American Games. The first edition of the South American Championships took place in 1919, in Montevideo.