Palomeque and Rodriguez sail at Valledupar 2026 Para South American Games

South America’s stars delivered in Valledupar as Para athletics wrapped up at the second edition of the Para South American Games in Colombia.

Home hero Karen Palomeque set a new world record* en route to gold, while Ecuador’s Kiara Rodriguez added a hat-trick of titles to her already impressive resume, finishing the Games as the most successful athlete in her sport.

A total of 177 athletes from 10 nations competed over four days of Para athletics (12–15 July) at the Jose Luis Parada Athletics Stadium. Brazil topped the medals table with 28 golds and 60 podiums, followed by Venezuela (18 golds, 48 medals) and Colombia (16 golds, 39 medals). Argentina, Ecuador and Chile also reached the top of the podium at Valledupar 2026.

Palomeque – the Paris 2024 champion in the women’s 100m and 400m T38 and double world champion at New Delhi 2025 (200m T38 and 400m T38) – clocked 56.60 in the 400m, improving her previous mark from the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games by more than two seconds.

“I’ve lost count. I don’t know if it’s the sixth or the seventh. I don’t keep track of the statistics, I just run,” Palomeque said of her new world record. “This result confirms all the hard work we’ve put in. We knew we were well prepared for these races and the aim was to show that on the track.”

She also added a silver in a Colombian podium sweep in the 100m T38, with New Delhi 2025 world champion Angie Nicole Mejia taking gold and Xiomara Saldarriaga claiming bronze.

“I was hoping for a better time in the 100 metres, but that’s how it turned out. I don’t understand why I didn’t achieve it. Perhaps my nerves got the better of me, but that doesn’t mean I did badly, I think the silver is a good result too,” Palomeque said.

“The 400 metres was much easier because it was my last race. I was already familiar with the track; I knew where I could make my changes of pace, how the wind affected things and all those details. The gold medal and my time leave me more than satisfied,” added the Colombian star, who will return to action on home soil at the Cali Grand Prix in September.

The first Ecuadorian athlete of any sport to be nominated for the Laureus World Sports Awards, Rodriguez (T46) opened her 2026 season in Valledupar with gold in the women’s 100m T45-T47, followed by another victory in the 200m T45-T47 in a world‑leading 24.93. She returned on the final day of Para athletics to complete her hat-trick with gold in the women’s long jump T45-T47, again with a world‑leading mark (6.10m).

Rodriguez, the world record holder in the 200m and long jump in her class, is the reigning world champion in all three events and the Paris 2024 gold medallist in the 100m T47 and long jump T47.

😎 ¡Va de nuevooo!
PARA ATHLETICS BACK IN DA HOUSE!!!

📸 Galería: https://t.co/leenVfExZc#tbt #Power2Inspire #Valledupar2026 pic.twitter.com/s2WwYtVqyT

— Americas Paralympic Committee (@amparalympics) July 13, 2026

Brazil on top

Brazil fielded 46 athletes, the largest squad in the sport. Four of them joined Rodriguez in leaving Valledupar with three medals – although of different colours.

Leandro Viana (T38) triumphed in the men’s 100m T38 and long jump T37-T38, adding silver in the men’s 400m T35-T37-T38. In women’s events, Lorraine Aguiar claimed gold in the 100m T12 and 400m T12, plus silver in the 200m T12.

Leonardo Melo (T54) won the men’s 100m T53-T54 and 800m T54, finishing second in the 400m T53-T54. He went neck‑and‑neck with another multi‑medallist, Argentina’s Gabriel Sosa (T54), who beat Melo in the 400m T53-T54 and finished behind him in the 100m T53-T54. Sosa also won the men’s 1500m T53-T54.

Romildo Pereira (T44) took gold in the men’s 100m T44 and long jump T43-T44-T62-T64, adding bronze in the 200m T64.

The first edition of the Para South American Games was held in Santiago in 2014, and two Brazilian athletes who competed in that inaugural event reached the podium again in Valledupar.

Joao Victor Teixeira, a double Paralympic medallist from Tokyo 2020, took silver in the men’s discus F37 (gold to Venezuela’s Edwards Varela) and in the men’s shot put F37 in a Brazil one‑two behind Emanoel Oliveira.

Renato Caetano claimed bronze in the men’s 100m T12, with Chile’s Christian Cerda taking gold.

“I was surprised with the gold. I knew I was racing against very strong opponents and just aimed at doing my best,” Cerda said.

Among the Paris 2024 gold medallists in action, Venezuela’s Enderson Santos claimed two titles in the men’s 100m T11 and 400m T11 – the latter being the event in which he is the reigning Paralympic champion. Naibys Morillo, the Paris champion in the women’s javelin F46, took silver behind compatriot Patricia Rodriguez.

Venezuela also produced two Americas records*, with Leonela Vera in the women’s 400m T20 (54.79) and Wendis Mejía in the women’s javelin F34 (18.00m).

More information and complete results are available on the Valledupar 2026 official website.

*Records pending ratification by World Para Athletics