Argentina’s Magdalena Garro wins canoe marathon world bronze

Argentina’s Magdalena Garro has won bronze in the women’s K1 senior short race at the 2026 Canoe Marathon World Championships in Gualeguaychú, Entre Ríos. The result placed the home paddler on the podium in one of the championship’s senior individual events and gave the host country a medal in a race contested by an international field.

Garro finished third behind Sweden’s Melina Andersson and Spain’s Miriam Vega. Andersson took the title in 12 minutes 38.45 seconds, while Vega was second in 12:49.35. Garro crossed in 12:51.00, 1.65 seconds behind the silver medallist after a close finish for the final two podium places.

The result came in the K1 senior short race, a single-kayak event rather than a crew race. That made the medal a direct individual result for Garro, who competed for Argentina at a world championship staged in her own province. The short-race programme formed part of a wider event schedule that also included longer-distance and crew-boat competitions across several days in Gualeguaychú.

Garro’s full competition name is María Magdalena Garro, although she is widely known as Magdalena or Magui. She is from Concepción del Uruguay, another city in Entre Ríos, and has competed for Argentina internationally. Her appearance on the Gualeguaychú podium therefore joined a national-team result with a strong local dimension inside the province hosting the championships.

After the race, Garro spoke of the importance of reaching the podium with Argentine supporters around the course. She said the setting added to the value of the result and described the support from the crowd as a significant part of the occasion. She also reflected on having found a better rhythm in the race after a difficult lead-in, allowing her to hold her place through the decisive final section.

The winning performance by Andersson added another senior world title to the Swedish paddler’s record in the discipline. Vega’s second place gave Spain a place between the champion and the home athlete. For Garro, the bronze was her first medal at this type of world competition, marking a breakthrough in the senior short-race field.

The margins underline how tight the finish was. Vega’s time was 10.90 seconds behind Andersson, but Garro was only a further 1.65 seconds back. The Argentine paddler therefore stayed within reach of silver while also keeping clear of the next challengers in the race’s closing phase.

Gualeguaychú hosted athletes from numerous countries for the championships, with the women’s K1 short race among the early senior finals. Holding the event in Argentina gave Garro the chance to contest the medal race in front of domestic spectators rather than travelling abroad for the championship. The setting was especially meaningful for an athlete from Entre Ríos, where canoeing has a strong local presence.

The bronze does not alter the order at the top of the race: Andersson won the world title, Vega took silver and Garro finished third. It does, however, give Argentina a senior women’s K1 short-race podium at its home world championships and a notable result for one of the province’s established paddlers.