Ecuador's Andres Chocho, winner of the 20,000m Race Walk at the South American Championships (© Eduardo Biscayart)
Buenos Aires, Argentina - The 47th edition of the South American Championships, the oldest Area Championships in the IAAF, ended on Sunday 5 June seeing the extension of the Brazilian domination. The region’s giant retained the title they have won since 1975 by obtaining 51 medals in the Argentinean capital (21 gold, 16 silver, 14 bronze).
The cold conditions of the weekend ended up benefiting the longer distances, especially the race walking, were Ecuadorian Andrés Chocho, and Colombian Ingrid Hernández set new Area records at the 20,000m Walk.
The 27 year-old Chocho, from Cuenca, dominated a very fast race walking event, clocking 1:20:23.8, and bringing back the South American record to Ecuador. The mark that once belonged to Olympic Games and World Championships gold medallist, Jefferson Pérez had been erased in Lima (21 June 2009) by Colombian Luis Fernando López 1:20:53.6, but now Chocho gained it back. Colombian Gustavo Adolfo Restrepo, second, was also under the previous best, clocking 1:20:36.6, and so was Chilean Yerko Araya, third (1:20.47.2).
“At the beginning, we were fighting for the victory, knowing that would mean the qualification for the World Championships, but, at the end, the fast pace meant a bigger prize,” declared Chocho, who was awarded as the best male performance of the event.
Colombian Ingrid Hernández won the female 20,000m Walk in 1:32:09.4, erasing the previous record of Ecuadorian Johana Ordóñez (1:34:57.9; Lima, 20 June 2009). Venezuelan Milángela Rosales, who lead for part of the race, was second with a NR of 1:32:17.6, and Colombian Arabelly Orjuela was third with a PB of 1:32:48.7.
“This is a great satisfaction, also a revenge for a bad performance from the Pan-American Cup, and a reward for all the work we are doing,” said Hernández.
Great display by Simone da Silva
Brazilian Simone da Silva (Morro de Chapeu, Bahia, 12 September 1984) also benefited from the cold weather and sea level conditions of Buenos Aires, and became the second South American to break 32 minutes at 10,000m. After a slow initial 1000m (3:26), the little Simone (1.53m, 42kg) took control of the race, and started to believe in something more than a victory. She passed (alone already) the 3000m mark in 9:58.1, the 5000m in 16:04.6, and had a fantastic second half (15:54.5), crossing the finish line in 31:59.11, a new Championship record, a PB, and the second South American best performance after the 31:47.76 area record of Carmen de Oliveira, obtained at the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart.
“Things are going very well for me now,” said Simone, who’s coached by Adauto Domingues, the same man who prepares Marílson Gomes dos Santos, the South American king of long distances - record holder from 5000m to Marathon. “After setting the 5000m record (15:18.86) in May in São Paulo, we will go to Europe to try to find a couple of races to continue improving. Then will head to the World Championships, hoping to gain some experience in Daegu,” added da Silva.
Argentinean Rosa Godoy was secod with 32:51.10, her second NR of the event, after the one she had set on Thursday at 5000m (15:43.36).
In the final day Peru won its first gold medal of the event when Jorge McFarlane took the Long Jump title with a 7.95m (wind 1.2) mark. This is only the second South American title for a Peruvian at the event, after the one by Guillermo Dyer in 1941.
Colombia, consolidated as the second nation, won three events in the last day. The Men’s Javelin (Arley Ibargüen 73.61m), the Women’s Javelin (María Lucelly Murillo 55.85m), and the women’s 4x100m relay (44.11). In both Javelin competitions, Paraguay obtained its only medals of the championships. Víctor Fatecha captured the bronze in the men’s, and Leryn Franco the silver in the women’s, with a NR performance of 55.66m.
Eduardo Biscayart for the IAAF
Results
47th South American Championships
Day 4 – 5 June 2011
Men
10,000m
1 Giovani dos Santos BRA 28:41.02
2 Damião da Silva BRA 28:53.94
3 Jhon Tello COL 28:56.46
Pole Vault
1 Fábio Gomes da Silva BRA 5.20 (5.35 in jump-off)
2 Germán Chiaraviglio ARG 5.20 (5.30 in jump-off)
3 Rubén Benítez ARG 4.90
Long Jump
1 Jorge McFarlane PER 7.95/1.2
2 Rafael Mello BRA 7.85/1.5
3 Daniel Pineda CHI 7.82/1.0
Javelin Throw
1 Arley Ibargüen COL 73.61
2 Dayron Márquez COL 73.15
3 Víctor Fatecha PAR 72.51
4x100m
1 BRA (Carlos Roberto de Morães, Sandro Viana, Nílson André, Aílson Feitosa) 39.87
2 COL 39.88
3 CHI 40.83
4x400m
1 BRA (Luís Eduardo Ambrósio, Kléberson Davide, Wágner Cardoso, Hederson Estefani) 3:08.95
2 COL 3:09.67
3 ARG 3:13.30
20,000m Walk
1 Andrés Chocho ECU 1:20:23.8 AR
2 Gustavo Adolfo Restrepo COL 1:20:36.6 NR
3 Yerko Araya CHI 1:20:47.2 NR
Women
10,000m
1 Simone da Silva BRA 31:59.11 CR
2 Rosa Godoy ARG 32:51.10 NR
3 Cruz da Silva BRA 32:53.72
Javelin Throw
1 María Lucelly Murillo COL 55.85
2 Leryn Franco PAR 55.66 NR
3 Alessandra Resende BRA 54.61
Heptathlon
1 Vanessa Spínola BRA 5428
14.63/0.2 1.68 12.59 24.71/1.2 (3335)
5.43/1.6 38.17 2:23.19
2 Agustina Zerboni ARG 5226
14.18 1.56 11.59 25.33 (3133)
5.61/2.6 34.83 2:22.27
3 Melry Caldeira BRA 5208
14.23 1.53 12.04 25.74 (3085)
5.61/0.5 37.78 2:24.33
4x100m
1 COL (Eliecit Palacios, Alejandra Idrobo, Yomara Hinestroza, Norma González) 44.11
2 BRA 44.56
3 CHI 46.42
4x400m
1 BRA (Geisa Coutinho, Aline dos Santos, Joelma Neves, Jaílma de Lima) 3:31.66
2 COL 3:37.66
3 CHI 3:49.51
20,000m Walk
1 Ingrid Hernández COL 1:32:09.4 AR
2 Milángela Rosales VEN 1:32:17.6 NR
3 Arabelly Orjuela COL 1:32.48.7
Medal Table
1 BRA 21 gold – 16 silver – 14 bronze; 51 total
2 COL 12g-12s-4b; 33
3 ARG 5g-8s-7b; 20
4 ECU 2g-0s-0b; 2
5 CHI 1g-3s-7b; 10
6 VEN 1g-2s-4b; 7
7 PER 1g-1s-1b; 3
8 URU 1g-0s-1b; 2
9 PAR 0g-1s-1b; 2
10 PAN 0g-1s-0b; 1
