The 2026 South American Games in Santa Fe concluded on Saturday, marking a triumphant chapter for the Argentine delegation, which secured an extraordinary 81 gold medals. This impressive milestone represents the country’s best medal haul in two decades, surpassing the 60-gold-medal threshold for the first time since the 2006 Buenos Aires Games, where the host nation claimed 107.
Across all events, the Argentine delegation accumulated a grand total of 293 medals, encompassing silver and bronze finishes. In accordance with standard Olympic-style competition protocol, the final standings are strictly ordered by the number of gold medals won rather than the cumulative total.
Even as the games reached their final hours, competitive action remained fierce. On Friday, the Argentina U-19 national team contested the men’s football gold medal match at the Marcelo Bielsa Stadium in Rosario, ultimately falling to Paraguay in a hard-fought encounter.
The Santa Fe 2026 multi-sport festival officially comes to a close with a formal closing ceremony at the city’s picturesque Parque del Sur on Saturday afternoon. Set to kick off at 6 p.m., the event features standard protocol activities, the traditional parade of delegations, the ceremonial hand-over of the regional sporting flag, and a heartfelt tribute dedicated to the hundreds of volunteers whose logistical efforts made the Games possible.
More than 300 student musicians from the provincial Choirs and Orchestras Network are scheduled to participate in the closing ceremony, which culminates in live musical performances by Bresh, Cacho Deicas, and other prominent acts. While attendance is free for the public, interested spectators are required to secure a QR Code ticket through the official Santa Fe 2026 fan fest website. Complementary celebrations and wrap-up events are also taking place in Rosario and Rafaela, both of which served as vital co-host cities for various disciplines throughout the competition.
Canoeing Turns Into a Gold Mine
Sprint canoeing proved to be an absolute powerhouse for the Argentine delegation during the closing stretch of the competition, with local athletes thoroughly dominating the tranquil waters of the Laguna Setúbal near the city of Santa Fe.
The momentum began on Thursday when the women’s K4 500-meter crew, consisting of Magdalena Garro, Candelaria Sequeira, Paulina Barreiro, and Lucía Dalto, powered across the finish line with a winning time of 1:31.25.
Garro returned to the podium on Friday to double her individual gold count, teaming up with Brenda Rojas to capture the women’s K2 500-meter crown in 1:37.51. The formidable Argentine pair crossed more than three seconds ahead of their Brazilian competitors, successfully defending the continental title Garro had previously claimed at the Asunción 2022 Games.
Rojas quickly secured her own second gold medal shortly thereafter, partnering with Agustín Vernice in the mixed K2 500 meters on Friday. The albiceleste duo clocked in at 1:30.21 to comfortably secure top honors.
Argentine dominance was equally pronounced on the men’s side of the water. On Thursday, Vernice teamed up with Gonzalo Carreras, Vicente Vergauven, and Rubén Vaisard to secure victory in the men’s K4 500 meters with a time of 1:16.83, comfortably defeating challenging boats from Uruguay and Chile.
Vernice and Carreras then mirrored their female counterparts by doubling up on gold on Friday, capturing the men’s K2 500-meter title in 1:25.15. They posted a decisive victory over silver medalists Uruguay, who finished in 1:26.61, and bronze medalists Venezuela, who crossed in 1:27.23.
Taekwondo Wins After 12 Years
In combat sports, taekwondo athlete José Luis Acuña, hailing from Neuquén, ended a lengthy 12-year gold medal drought for Argentina in the discipline on Friday.
The 23-year-old triumphed in the Kyorugi under-68 kg division, defeating Brazil’s João Souza in a tense final. The victory secured Argentina’s first top podium finish in the sport since legendary Olympic champion Sebastián Crismanich claimed gold at the Santiago 2014 Games.
The achievement carried profound emotional weight for Acuña, who candidly revealed after his victory that he had been forced to step away from competitive taekwondo for nearly two years due to a combination of personal and health challenges. He only returned to the sport after receiving an unexpected phone call from Crismanich himself while Acuña was working shifts at a local supermarket.
"That’s just life. If you don’t try, you never know," reflected Acuña, who has been training alongside Crismanich in Corrientes and admitted to living away from his family home in Neuquén for over a year in pursuit of his athletic ambitions.
Argentina Running Away From the Competition
Argentine athletics delivered a series of breathtaking performances on the track during the final days of competition, thrilling home crowds with record-shattering displays.
The mixed 4×400-meter relay team, featuring Agustín Pinti, María Florencia Lamboglia, Elián Larregina, and Megan Powell, raced to a magnificent gold medal with a time of 3:16.93. They finished ahead of relay squads from Colombia and Ecuador, simultaneously setting a new national record and a South American Games record.
Their remarkable time shattered the previous Games record of 3:21.53, which had been established by Brazil at the Asunción 2022 Games, while also eclipsing the previous Argentine national record of 3:17.55 set in Medellín earlier in June 2026.
This historic relay success followed hard on the heels of long-distance runner Micaela Levaggi, who etched her name into the history books at Santa Fe 2026 on Thursday. Just a single day after securing gold in the 1,500 meters—which marked Argentina’s very first athletics gold medal of the Games—Levaggi returned to the track to win the 5,000 meters and claim her second consecutive individual title.
The 28-year-old athlete from Mar del Plata completed the grueling race in 15:48.73 following a fiercely contested tactical battle against Peru’s Lizaida Valdivia, with the gold medal ultimately decided on an electrifying final lap.
Swimming Led Early On
Argentina’s campaign started strong on opening day, anchored by Pascual Di Tella, who captured the nation’s very first gold medal of the Games in the men’s individual sabre fencing event by defeating Venezuela’s Eliecer Romero in the final. However, the undisputed stars of the early competition window were the athletes of the Argentine swimming team.
On the very first day of events, Macarena Ceballos and Cecilia Dieleke claimed top honors in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke and 50-meter backstroke, respectively.
Argentina also triumphed in the women’s 4×100-meter medley relay, fielding a powerhouse lineup that featured Dieleke on backstroke, Ceballos on breaststroke, Laila Chain on butterfly, and Andrea Berrino anchoring the freestyle leg.
Altogether, the national swim team accumulated an impressive 28 medals across the swimming program, establishing the pool as the country’s single most successful discipline of the Santa Fe Games.
Russo Three-Peats
Sport shooter Fernanda Russo cemented her legacy at the Games by securing her third consecutive 10-meter air rifle individual title.
The athlete from Córdoba triumphed at the International Shooting Center final with a stellar score of 249.1 points. Brazil’s Geovana Meyer claimed the silver medal with 246.7 points, while Peru’s Sara Vizcarra rounded out the podium by taking bronze with 225.5 points.
Beyond keeping Argentina locked in a competitive race near the top of the standings, Russo’s victory secured her direct qualification for the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima, where she will set her sights on earning a coveted quota spot for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Armenian Wrestler Brings Argentina Glory
Armenian-born Greco-Roman wrestler Arsen Julfalakyan provided one of the most compelling human-interest stories of the entire multi-sport event, claiming gold for Argentina in the under-77kg category after defeating Colombia’s Jair Cuero 4-2 in the final on September 20.
The 39-year-old veteran had previously won a silver medal representing Armenia at the London 2012 Olympics before retiring from the sport in 2021, driven by a loss of motivation after being left off the Armenian national roster for the Tokyo 2020 Games.
In 2024, Julfalakyan made a high-profile competitive comeback under the Argentine flag following an invitation from Argentine Olympic wrestler Yuri Maier. He quickly integrated into South American sporting life, noting that his wife and children had "fell in love with Argentina."
Pumas and Yaguaretés Crowned
Argentina’s rugby sevens squads enjoyed a golden weekend, sweeping the men’s and women’s tournament crowns on September 21.
The women’s national team, affectionately known as the Yaguaretés, delivered a masterclass in the final by comprehensively defeating Colombia 33-5. The bronze medal in the women’s bracket went to Paraguay, who overcame Uruguay 22-12.
The victory not only ended Brazil’s long-standing regional dominance in the women’s rugby sevens event but also booked Argentina’s ticket to the 2027 Pan American Games.
Meanwhile, the men’s team, the Pumas, outplayed Chile 17-7 in a hard-hitting final to claim top honors, successfully repeating the gold medal achievements they accomplished at Santiago in 2014 and Asunción in 2022. The men’s podium was completed by Uruguay, who secured a comfortable 22-7 victory over Colombia in the third-place playoff.
Hockey Wins Double Gold
The golden weekend continued as Argentina secured a prestigious double victory in the field hockey tournaments, with Las Leonas and Los Leones claiming the women’s and men’s titles, respectively, on September 22.
The women’s national team, entering the competition fresh off their recent field hockey World Cup triumphs, routed Chile 5-0 to decisively avenge their narrow defeat in the final of the Asunción 2022 South American Games.
Concurrently, the men’s team entered the tournament carrying the weight of being four-time defending champions and extended their legacy with a clinical 3-1 victory over Chile, successfully capturing their fifth consecutive regional title.
