Hernan Sartori
03/19/2021 8:31 PM
Clarín.com
sports
Updated 03/19/2021 8:31 PM
Argentine swimming had had an unforgettable 2019 Pan American Games in Lima in the pool, led by that portent that is Delfina Pignatiello.
The three golds of the young jewel in the 400, 800 and 1,500 meters freestyle had been joined by Virginia Bardach's victory in 200 butterfly and her silver in 200 medley,
Julia Sebastián's
silver
in 100 chest and her bronze in 200 chest , and the bronzes of the male and mixed posts of the 4x100 medley.
But the pandemic cut the clean and jerk and had to start over.
And what if Argentina has reason to celebrate: it won the pool events of an absolute South American for the first time since Lima 1966.
Just as it reads.
It took
55 years
for the blue and white team to conquer this tournament by adding up the points achieved by both genders.
The women had already won the 2018 South American, in the Peruvian capital, where they cut a very long drought.
But now the historic victory was for the team as a whole.
That is why each test was worth the breath of the members who were out of the water.
And so they dethroned Brazil, who competed with their junior team.
Julia Sebastián won the golds in 100 and 200 breaststrokes in the South American Swimming Championship Photo CADDA
In the tournament held in the swimming pool of the Olympic Park, with a lot of health care before so many athletes training and competing, the national team won the tournament with a total of 439 units and left Brazil second with 419.33.
These points are what define the tournament and each position in the finals adds units.
Hence the importance of the team.
The
10
Argentine
golds
obtained in the tournament came from the strokes and kicks of consecrated swimmers.
Pignatiello won by just one hundredth the 800 meters freestyle with a time of 8m34m10 and this Friday he won the 400 freestyle in 4m15s00.
Julia Sebastián, professional in the ISL and classified for Tokyo 2020, swept the 100 (1m08s93) and 200 meters breaststroke (2m27s59), and was part of the winning 4x100 medley post, along with Andrea Berrino, Macarena Ceballos and Lucía Gauna, with 4m10s56.
Ceballos, Berrino and Gauna were also golden in the free 4x100, together with María Guillermina Ruggiero, with a time of 3m50s02.
And in individual events, Ceballos won the 50 chest in 31s27 and Berrino, the 200 backstroke in 2m16s43.
Meanwhile, Virginia Bardach took the 400 medley in 4m49s76.
Among the men, the South American gold went to Ivo Cassini in the 1,500 freestyle, with 15m30s81.
Ivo Cassini won gold in the 1,500-meter freestyle of the South American swimming.CADDA photo
Among the rain of
16 silver medals
, the
Argentine record
of 1m00s49 in 100 butterfly by Ceballos
shone
, also second in 100 breasts with 1m09s49.
In that specialty, Gabriel Morelli was twice silver in 100 (1m02s26) and 200 meters (2m14s01).
And Pignatiello hung two silver in 1,500 free (16m25m68) and as part of the 4x200 free post with Gauna, Bardach and Delfina Dini, with 7m34s03.
In that post, but male, were second Joaquín González Piñero, Franco Melián, Martín Carrizo and Joaquín Renzi with 8m20s71.
The rest of the silver medals went to Bardach in 200 butterfly (2m14s58), Federico Ludueña in 200 butterfly (2m01s15), Berrino in 50 backstroke (29s12), María Alborzen in 400 medley (4m53s98), Roberto Strelkov in 50 butterfly (24s07 ) and Sebastián in 50 chest (31s55).
Meanwhile, Agustín Hernández was second in 100 backstroke (56s23) and in the 4x100 medley (3m41s65), along with Morelli, Nicolás Deferrari and Guido Buscaglia.
And the 4x100 mixed medley post closed the silver harvest.
Macarena Ceballos achieved the Argentine record in the 100 butterfly in the South American swimming event.CADDA Photo
The same surnames were repeated in the
13
Argentine
bronzes
: Dini in the 800 (8m44m92) and 1,500 free (16m40m97), Bardach in 200 medley (2m17s76), Berrino in 100 free (56s86), Ceballos in 200 chest (2m31s18), Buscaglia in 50 butterfly (24s29), Morelli in 50 chest (29s00).
Carrizo in 1,500 freestyle (15m36s91) and Juan Ignacio Méndez in 200 backstroke (2m03s38).
In turn, third was the men's 4x100 free post, with González Piñero, Strelkov, Renzi and Buscaglia, with a time of 3m22s39.
And this Friday Deferrari joined in 200 butterfly (2m01s60), Berrino in 50 free (25s74) and Gauna in 400 free (4m18s25).
There is little time left for Tokyo 2020, Games that the International Olympic Committee is willing to carry out even with the second or third waves of Covid-19 falling in various regions of the world.
This South American absolute Argentine title after 55 years is historic for swimming, yes.
But the final phase must be tightened even more to go with more athletes in Japan.
That is the work that continues in depth.
Andrea Berrino, María Guillermina Ruggiero, Lucía Gauna and Macarena Ceballos were gold in 4x100 freestyle at the South American Swimming Championship Photo: CADDA
Rain of bronzes in artistic
The Argentinean artistic swimming team won five bronze medals in the South American Water Sports Championship.
First came third place in the combined routine competition, with a score of 75.9583.
Then came the medal in solo for Camila Arregui, with 151.0137.
The team was bronze with 150.0755.
And yesterday there were third places in the highlight routine and in the free duet formed by Arregui and Trinidad López Brasesco.
The other members of the selected team are Constanza Re, Luisina Caussi, Florencia Houitte de la Chesnais, Zoe Ferrer, Morena Ferrer, Tiziana Bonucci, Guadalupe García, Valentina Marchetti and Sofía Magliaccio.
The rest of the tournament
The South American Water Sports will continue from Monday with three other disciplines: water polo and diving, in the Villa Soldati Olympic Park, and open water competitions.
In the latter case, the 5-kilometer (Wednesday) and 10-kilometer tests (Friday), and the 5-kilometer relay (Saturday 27), will be held in Mar del Plata.
HS