At the XIII South American Games taking place in Santa Fe and Rosario, regional athletes from Neuquén made their presence felt on the opening day of competition. Archery competitors Esteban Silva and Wanda Arca kicked off their respective tournament campaigns at the Hipódromo Óvalo venue in Rosario, completing ranking rounds and setting up crucial elimination matches for the remainder of the week.
For Silva, a 20-year-old native of Plottier who competes in the senior men’s recurve division, the debut yielded a strong 8th-place finish among 31 participants after firing 72 arrows at a 70-meter distance, accumulating 642 points. Silva, who balances his athletic career with second-year studies in electronic engineering at the Universidad Nacional del Comahue, advances to the 16avos de final scheduled for Thursday at 15:15 local time, where he will face Peru’s Diego Fernández, who finished 25th in the ranking round. In the men’s team recurve event, Silva teamed up with Damián Jajarabilla and Matías Noriega to secure 5th place among nine participating countries, setting up a quarterfinal clash against Venezuela.
Wanda Arca, representing Neuquén in the women’s recurve individual competition, finished 15th among 25 archers with a total score of 522 points during the opening 72-arrow session at 70 meters. The 35-year-old archer advances to a Thursday elimination matchup against compatriot María Giudice, who placed 18th in the ranking round. In the women’s team competition, Arca, Giudice, and Alma Pueyo combined to place Argentina 4th overall, earning a quarterfinal meeting against fourth-placed Panama.
Beyond the archery venue, the Argentine delegation saw action across multiple disciplines in Rosario and Santa Fe. In track and field, Matías Reynaga captured the silver medal in the men’s 10,000-meter run, while Franco Peidón advanced to the 800-meter final by placing fifth in his semifinal heat with a time of 1:51.52. The mixed 4×100 relay team also secured a silver medal for Argentina with a time of 42.22.
Additional competition unfolded in sports ranging from coastal rowing and racquetball to track cycling and field hockey, as delegations from across South America contest medals through the scheduled multi-sport calendar.
Worth a look
