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2023 SOUTH AMERICAN FEMALE SWIMMER OF THE YEAR: MACARENA CEBALLOS, ARGENTINA
Argentine breaststroker Macarena Ceballos had a breakout year in the pool, earning her South American Female Swimmer of the Year honors for the first time.
Coming into 2023, Ceballos hadn’t set a lifetime best in the 100 breaststroke dating back to the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships, where she went 1:08.01 in the heats and ultimately finished eighth in the ‘A’ final.
This year, the 28-year-old emerged as one of the top South American performers at the World Championships among women, placing 12th in the 100 breast and setting a new Continental Record.
The lone swimmer—man or woman—to set an individual South American Record for the year, Ceballos clocked 1:06.69 in the prelims in Fukuoka, lowering the previous record of 1:06.98 established by fellow Argentine Julia Sebastian in 2019.
Ceballos, who had brought her best time down into the 1:07 range earlier in the year, advanced into the semifinals in 12th, and finished in the same position during the evening session, touching in 1:06.75.
She went on to make a second semi-final appearance in the 200 breast, hitting a personal best of 2:26.18 in the prelims before finishing 16th overall (2:26.68).
A few months later, Ceballos won bronze in the 100 breast at the Pan Am Games in a time of 1:07.68, and she added a fourth-place finish in the 200 breast (2:26.70).
HONORABLE MENTIONS
- Stephanie Balduccini, Brazil: One of just three Brazilian female swimmers to earn an individual second swim at the World Championships, Balduccini was a relay workhorse in both Fukuoka and at the Pan Am Games. The now 19-year-old finished 13th in the women’s 100 free at Worlds after qualifying ninth out of the prelims (54.15), and she also contributed on five Brazilian relays, including anchoring the mixed 400 free relay that finished sixth and throwing in a sub-54 leg on the 400 free relay. Balduccini followed up with an impressive performance at the Pan Am Games, winning five medals including individual silver in the 100 free (54.13) and gold in the mixed 400 free relay. She added an individual fourth-place finish in the 200 free (1:58.67) and a fifth-place showing in the 50 free (25.25)—a new PB. Now at the University of Michigan, Balduccini was a force at the Georgia Fall Invite (SCY) in November, winning the women’s 100 free (47.26) and 200 free (1:43.30).
- Maria Fernanda Costa, Brazil: Costa was the top individual performer among female South American swimmers at the Pan Am Games, winning a pair of silver medals with lifetime bests in the 200 free (1:58.12) and 400 free (4:06.68), missing the winning time by a combined 27 one-hundredths of a second. She also led off the Brazilian 800 free relay in 1:58.39, giving the team a one-second lead over the Americans and Canadians before they ultimately finished as the runner-up in a close race with the U.S. Earlier in the year at the World Championships, the 21-year-old was 12th in the 400 free (4:08.67) and 20th in the 200 free (1:58.67), also producing a key 1:58.13 split that pushed Brazil into the final of the 800 free relay.
- Beatriz Dizotti, Brazil: The lone South American female to make an individual final in Fukuoka, Dizzoti set a new Brazilian Record in the prelims of the 1500 free (16:01.95) to advance in eighth before taking seventh in the final (16:03.70). The 23-year-old’s performance in the 1500 ranks 10th in the world for the year, the highest among South American women. She also placed 13th in the 800 free (8:32.42) at Worlds, and ended up fourth in the 1500 at the Pan Am Games.
PREVIOUS WINNERS:
- 2022 Swammy – Jhennifer Conceicao, Brazil
- 2021 Swammy – Viviane Jungblut, Brazil
- 2020 Swammy – Julia Sebastian, Argentina
- 2019 Swammy – Delfina Pignatiello, Argentina
- 2018 Swammy — Julia Sebastian, Argentina
- 2017 Swammy — Etiene Medeiros, Brazil
- 2016 Swammy — Etiene Medeiros, Brazil
- 2015 Swammy — Ana Marcela Cunha, Brazil
- 2014 Swammy — Etiene Medeiros, Brazil
- 2013 Swammy — Poliana Okimoto, Brazil
