The 33rd edition of the Juegos Binacionales de la Araucanía concluded on Friday, October 30, 2026, in the Los Ríos Region of Chile, where more than 2,500 young athletes from 13 provinces and regions competed across eight sports over an intensive week of cross-border youth competition. The 33rd edition gathered participants from Argentina and Chile during a week of competition involving athletes from 13 regions.
Río Negro Claims Third Place Overall Behind Dominant Swimmer Federico Bottos
The province’s campaign was spearheaded by swimmer Federico Bottos, who captured eight individual gold medals during the first three days, alongside contributions from men’s and women’s relay teams that added medals across various events. Table tennis made its debut in the tournament, with Río Negro placing fifth in the men’s team event and ninth in the women’s category.
Beyond the pool, Río Negro celebrated victories in track and field, where Violeta Vicens took gold in the triple jump. Damián Suárez added two silvers in the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints, while Aarón Figueroa earned silver in the shot put. Antonella Rodríguez claimed bronze in the 200 meters, and Valentín Doñate finished third in the 110-meter hurdles. In cycling, Santino Pavez secured gold in the street circuit race, while both the men’s and women’s cycling squads finished seventh in the team general classification. Sofía Rodríguez triumphed in the 63-to-70-kilogram judo category, with Mila Celescinco and Milagros Bologniessi taking silver medals, and Ian Figueroa and Julián Vilca also reaching the podium; additionally, the women’s judo team placed third in the general classification and the men’s team won bronze. In team sports, both the men’s and women’s basketball teams finished fourth, the women’s volleyball team placed fourth, and the men’s volleyball team took seventh.
Fuchsia and Gold on the Final Day in Team Sports
On the final day of competition, Río Negro’s women’s football team captured the championship by defeating La Pampa in a penalty shootout. Following a 1–1 draw through regulation, the Rionegrino side prevailed 5–4 from the spot, with Pía Tahis Espinoza scoring the equalizer late in the match. Alina Delgado finished as the tournament’s top scorer with six goals and was named the event’s most valuable player. In the men’s football tournament, Río Negro claimed the bronze medal by edging Neuquén 1–0 on a free-kick goal by Jonás Guananja. Furthermore, the men’s swimming team was crowned general classification champion, while the women’s swimming team secured third place.
The province’s sports leadership, including Nahuel Astutti, Simón Miravete, and Aníbal Francischelli, accompanied the 200-member delegation in Chile. Astutti credited the provincial success to the coordinated preparation across local federations and government support, noting that the effort involved evaluative camps, training sessions in various locations, and logistical organization for travel, lodging, meals, and assistance.
Neuquén Secures Fifth Position in Four-Year High
Neuquén finished fifth in the general standings and seventh in the medal table with 21 total preseas—four golds, nine silvers, and eight bronzes—amassing 165 points across eight sports. The performance marks the province’s best position in the youth competition over the last four years, eclipsing totals from 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Gold medals for Neuquén came from Marianela Salomón in the 40-kilometer peloton cycling road race, the women’s judo team comprising Priscila Alegre, Araceli Cardozo, Uma Pérez, Yasmín Riquelme, and Morena Sepúlveda, Enzo Suárez in the under-66-kilogram judo division, and Francisco García in the 200-meter breaststroke. On the closing day, Neuquén’s women’s basketball team defeated Río Negro 45–42 to take the bronze medal—matching their result from 2025—while the women’s football team secured third place by beating Los Lagos on penalties.
Los Lagos Makes History as General Champion
At the top of the overall classification, the host Chilean region of Los Lagos made history by capturing the general championship for the first time since the creation of the tournament, finishing with 212 points. Los Lagos broke the historical hegemony of the event by outscoring runner-up Biobío, which finished with 189 points. Río Negro placed third with 186 points, followed closely by Chubut in fourth with 180 points, while La Pampa secured a strong sixth place with 162 points in the final standings table for Los Ríos 2026.
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