Chile secured four bronze medals on September 13, 2026, during the opening day of the South American Games in Santa Fe, Argentina. Swimmer Kristel Köbrich captured her 19th career Odesur medal in the 800-meter freestyle, leading a national delegation that also claimed podium finishes in swimming and fencing.
The opening day of the South American Games in Santa Fe brought an immediate milestone for the national delegation. Four bronze medals established an early foothold for Chile in the regional standings, anchored by veteran performances and strong debuts across aquatic and combat disciplines.
Kristel Köbrich Reaches 19th Odesur Medal in the 800-Meter Freestyle
At 41 years of age, Kristel Köbrich continued agigantando su leyenda by securing a bronze medal in the 800-meter freestyle. Competing in her seventh Odesur appearance, the veteran distance specialist clocked a time of 8:41.47 in the Argentine pool, or 8’41”.47 according to Cooperativa.
Köbrich started the race in fourth place before working her way up to contest the podium against younger competitors, demonstrating her notable vigencia by superar a rivales hasta 24 años menor. Brazil’s Gabrielle Roncatto claimed the gold medal with a time of 8:37.15, while compatriot Beatriz Pimentel took silver at 8:37.36, leaving the Chilean less than four seconds behind the winning pace (specifically, biobiochile.cl and redgol.cl note she finished casi cuatro segundos atrás
/ cuatro segundos
of the difference).
Kristel Köbrich, Team Chile athlete, via Encancha, stated that she was very happy to add another medal for Chile, expressed her gratitude, and noted that she still had the 1,500 meters ahead of her.
The result lifts her career total to 19 medals in South American Games competition.
Mariano Lazzerini and Fencing Stars Add to Bronze Haul
Swimming delivered a second podium finish when Mariano Lazzerini placed third in the 100-meter breaststroke. Fresh off completing his collegiate athletic career in the United States, Lazzerini posted a time of 1:01.22 in a tight battle against Brazilian competitors Joao Gomes, who won gold in 1:01.16, and Caio Rodrigues, who took silver with 1:00.74 (note: biobiochile.cl lists Joao Gomes at 1:01.16 and Caio Rodrigues at 1:00.74, while emol.com lists Joao Gomes with 1:01.16 and Caio Rodrigues with 1:00.74).
Earlier in the program, the fencing squad opened the country’s medal count. Katina Proestakis and Arantza Inostroza each secured bronze medals in the foil competition. Both athletes advanced to the semifinals before falling in their respective matches—Proestakis dropping a 15-8 decision to Brazil’s Ana Di Renzo Bulcao and Inostroza losing a narrow 15-14 bout to Peru’s Mariana Soriano—securing two third-place finishes under combat sports rules that award dual bronze medals (cooperativa.cl likewise notes they reached the semifinals and at no haber definición por el tercer lugar, logran subirse al podio).
Team Chile Hockey and Volleyball Start Strong in Argentina
Beyond the podium events, team sports launched their campaigns with decisive victories across Santa Fe. Las Diablas opened field hockey play with a 16-0 rout of Paraguay, featuring multiple goals from Fernanda Arrieta, Josefina Gutiérrez, María Jesús Maldonado, Manuela Urroz, and Fernanda Villagrán, alongside tallies from Victoria Arrieta, Montserrat Obon, and Constanza Palma.
The men’s hockey team, Los Diablos, followed suit by defeating Peru 7-0 through scores from Raimundo Valenzuela, Ignacio Contardo, Juan Ignacio Amoroso, José Hurtado, Sebastián Wolansky, Kay Gesswein, and an own goal. In beach volleyball, Marco and Esteban Grimalt opened their tournament with a 2-0 victory over Uruguay’s Luciano Fernández and Sebastián Rubio, winning sets 21-16 and 21-17.
Medal Standings and Upcoming Regional Bids
At the conclusion of the first full day of competition on September 13, Chile stood eighth in the overall medal table (se ubica octavo en el medallero, según emol.com), which was led by Brazil with 14 gold medals (as reported by emol.com).
