South American rowing regatta returns

The South American rowing regatta, the “Campeonato Sudamericano De Remo”, returned to live racing a few weeks ago in Paraguay.

Hosted in December 2021 by the city of Asuncion, the event had participation from 11 countries and more than 170 athletes. They came from throughout South America including Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia, Paraguay and Mexico. Mexico was by invitation as they belong to the North American region.

The regatta went through extreme heat reaching 40°C but that did not hinder the athletes and coaches enjoying great racing with top level rowers, many of them former and recent Olympians.

Chile walked away with 11 golds and the Championship title. Their coaches Augusto Grandjean, Javier Godoy, Alejandro Atero, Felipe Leal and Felipe Recalt were part of taking the team to a clear victory. This was led by their national super stars Melita and Antonia Abraham, former junior and under-23 world champions coached by Bienvenido Front.

Uruguay finished in second place on the medals table helped by Bruno Cetraro who took home four golds, two silvers and one bronze (as a coxswain).  Felipe Kluver, also from Uruguay, helped the team win medals. He competed a couple of weeks prior at the Junior Panamerican Games.  Cetraro and Kluver had given Uruguay their best placing in decades at the Olympic Regatta in Tokyo with a sixth-place finish in the lightweight men’s double sculls. They were coached by Osvaldo Borchi.

Argentina finished third place in the medals thanks to their six golds. Their athletes were coached by Jorge Enriquez, Martin Bonini, Pablo Susini, Carlo Rommer and Facundo Aguila.

Brazil won the most medals from all participating teams with 24. They won three golds, eleven silvers and ten bronze which confirms the great moment they are going through after a national federation restructure and a new team of coaches that include Paulinho Vinicius de Souza, Bernhard Stomporowski, Marcello Varriale and Leticia Musiol.

Paraguay deserves a special mention for getting more medals than ever before with three golds, four silvers and three bronze. Former Olympians Alejandra Alonso, Gabriela Mosquera, Rocío Rivarola and Arturo Rivarola brought tears and cheer to the grandstands. They are all coached by Jorge Benitez, Dionisio Gamarra and Tomás Kowalczik.

The medal count was rounded out by a single gold and a bronze won by Francesca Grandela, from Peru. Mexico participated with a team lead by Jesus Porras and José Hernandez but there were no medals for the Mexicans this time.

Para rowing saw great racing with René Campos from Brazil and Michel Muñoz from Mexico that rowed for gold and silver in the PR1 men’s single sculls. Both of them are Tokyo Para rowers. Mexico won gold in the PR2 mixed double sculls, leaving the silver for Argentina.

Next up for South American racing during 2022 is the Sudamericano in Sao Paulo, Brazil in March, then the Juegos Bolivarianos to be hosted by Colombia in July and the Odesur Games in November in Paraguay.

Photos and report thanks to Osvaldo Borchi, Monica de la Maza, Alvaro Vazquez NS Santiago Fuentes.