Brazil’s Eugenio Santana Franco proved age is no barrier as the 66-year-old claimed the W1 men individual gold medal at the Para South American Games in Valledupar, Colombia.
The world number eight and top seed defeated Chile’s Victor Manuel Saiz Bocaz 6-2 in the final to secure his first international title since winning gold at the Santiago 2023 Parapan American Games. It was also Saiz Bocaz’s second individual international medal following his bronze at Santiago 2023.
Earlier in the competition, Santana Franco teamed up with Juliana Cristina Ferreira da Silva to win the W1 mixed team title, defeating hosts Colombia 6-0. Ferreira da Silva, the 2024 Pan American Para Championship and the top seed in Valledupar, completed a golden double by defeating Chile’s Mariela López Carrasco to win the W1 women individual title.
Brazil’s dominance continued in compound women, where former world number one Jane Karla Gogel defeated fellow Brazilian and top seed Helena Nunes de Moraes 129-125 to claim the individual gold medal.
The pair had earlier combined to win the compound women’s doubles title with a commanding 138-114 victory over Colombia.
Santana Franco, Ferreira da Silva and Gogel were among the five Brazilian para archers who represented the country at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
A new champion emerged in compound men as Ecuador’s Joffre Javier Villavicencio Galecio secured the biggest victory of his career. The third seed, who won mixed team silver at Santiago 2023, maintained a narrow advantage throughout the final to defeat Colombia’s top seed Cristian David Correa Alvaran 128-122.
