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D’Almeida, Lopez lead the way into individual finals at South American Games

25 September 2026

Rosario (Argentina)

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Marcus D’Almeida will get another chance to claim the XIII South American Games Santa Fe 2026 recurve men’s title when he faces defending champion Jorge Enriquez in a repeat of the Asunción 2022 final.

The world No. 1 Brazilian arrives in Rosario as the reigning Pan American champion after winning the individual title at the 2026 Pan American Championships in Tlaxcala, Mexico, and will be among several defending champions chasing gold on Friday.

Enriquez, the world No. 22 and a two-time Olympian, also arrives in strong form after taking individual silver at the XXV Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe Santo Domingo 2026 in July.

D’Almeida defeated compatriot Matheus Zwick Ely to reach the final, while Zwick Ely will face Chile’s Ángel Moises Vega Valdivia for bronze.

Brazil’s Ane Marcelle Dos Santos moved one step closer to defending her title in the recurve women’s, defeating compatriot Isabelle Trindade Estevez 6-2 to book her place in the gold-medal match.

Dos Santos will face Colombia’s world No. 24 Ana Maria Rendon for gold, while Estevez will meet Argentina’s Alma Fiorella Pueyo Lopez for bronze.

Colombia’s strong showing continues in compound, with its archers in contention for all six individual medals.

The team has secured two all-Colombian gold-medal matches, putting it in position to add up to four individual medals to the two compound team golds won earlier in the Games.

World No. 7 Pablo Gomez Zuluaga has been in fine touch this season, winning his first individual Hyundai Archery World Cup title at Stage 4 in Madrid in July before finishing fourth at the World Cup Final in Saltillo.

He now has another chance to add to his impressive 2026 campaign, having reached the compound men’s final to set up an all-Colombian clash with compatriot Sebastian Arenas.

Arenas will be looking to claim the biggest individual title of his campaign, while teammate Jagdeep Singh Mejia will face Brazil’s Jairo Rodrigo Da Silva for bronze.

The women’s compound final will see defending champion Sara Lopez face teammate Alejandra Usquiano.

Lopez won gold at Asunción 2022, with Maria Valentina Suárez taking silver and Usquiano bronze. Four years on, Lopez is aiming to retain her title, while Usquiano has the chance to move from bronze to gold.

Colombia’s Mariana Rodriguez will face Venezuela’s Ana Mendoza for bronze, giving Colombia another chance to sweep the women’s compound podium as it did in Asunción.

The individual and mixed team finals will take place on Friday, with gold medals on the line in men’s and women’s recurve and compound.

Images courtesy of World Archery Americas.