Kristel Kobrich With Top-Ranked 1500 Free To Close South American Games

SANTIAGO, Chile, March 10. A handful of world top 10 swims went up on the scoreboard during the final night at the South American Games with hometown swimmer Kristel Kobrich throwing down a top-ranked 1500-meter freestyle.

Brazil’s Graciele Herrmann opened up the final night of competition in Chile with a 25.26 to capture the women’s 50-meter freestyle title. That’s just a bit outside the world top 10 currently anchored by Anna Santamans and Natalie Coughlin with 25.17s. Herrmann’s compatriot Alessandra Harrison touched second in 25.43, while Suriname’s Chinyere Pigot snagged third in 26.05.

The meet then turned to the metric mile for the women as Kobrich dominated with a 16:15.89. That’s easily the top time in the world this year, smashing the previous best of 16:22.79 by Mireia Belmonte from the Mediterranean Open this weekend in the women’s 1500-meter freestyle. Ecuador’s Samantha Arevalo finished second overall in 16:38.05, while Argentina’s Cecilia Biagioli earned third in 16:38.54 as both moved into the top 10 in the world this year. Arevalo now stands ninth with Biagioli 10th.

Brazil pulled off another 1-2 in the men’s 200-meter breaststroke as Henrique Barbosa turned in a 2:15.42 for the victory. Teammate Tales Cerdeira placed second in 2:16.58 with Venezuela’s Carlos Claverie earning third in 2:17.02. Colombia’s Carolina Colorado then picked up the women’s 100-meter back title in 1:02.56 with Brazil’s Etienne Medeiros taking a close second in 1:02.85. Brazil’s Natalia De Luccas finished third overall in 1:02.92.

Demonstrating the depth of Brazil’s sprint free, Matheus De Santana ripped off a 49.13 to win the men’s 100-meter free. That performance jumped him to seventh in the world, with Brazil’s Cesar Cielo now standing ninth in the rankings. Argentina’s Federico Grabich took second in 49.66 with Venezuela’s Alberto Subirats winding up third in 49.72.

Argentina went 1-2 in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke with Julia Sebastian winning in 1:10.40 and Mascarena Ceballos taking second in the event in 1:11.00. Venezuela’s Mercedes Toledo pocketed third-place honors in 1:11.56. Brazil’s Thiago Pereira topped the men’s 400-meter IM with a time of 4:23.15 with Ecuador’s Esteban Enderica finishing second in 4:25.30. Brazil’s Thiago Teixeira earned third overall in 4:27.86.

Brazil’s Etiene Medeiros, Beatriz Azzolini, Daynara De Paula and Larissa De Oliveira snared the women’s 400-meter medley relay title with a 4:11.49. De Paula and De Oliveira pulled Brazil from fourth after the second leg to winning after the anchor. Argentina (4:12.17) and Colombia (4:15.39) wound up second and third in the relay.

Brazil then closed out the meet with another relay win as Nicolas De Oliveira, Matheus De Santana, Fernando Dos Santos and Fernando Da Silva raced to a 3:19.44 to win the men’s 400-meter free relay. De Santana threw down a 48.99 on his leg. Argentina (3:21.31) and Venezuela (3:21.48) placed second and third.

Results For: South American Games: Day Four

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