Agostina Hein Smashes 2 South American Records Back-To-Back With 8:22.0 800 Free, 2:10.82 200 IM

2026 South American Youth Games

• Panama City, Panama
• Swimming Portion: April 16-19, 2026
• 50 meters (LCM)
• Results

The 2026 South American Youth Games could not have started off with a bigger bang thanks to 17-year-old phenom Agostina Hein. In the first two events of the women’s program on the first day of competition, the Buenos Aires native racked up three Argentine records and two South American continent records.

In the first event of the finals session, the 800 free, Hein dropped an 8:22.01 to outswim the rest of the field by well over 20 seconds. This time not only beat her previous best of 8:26.19, which she registered to take silver at last year’s World Junior Championships, but it also took down Argentine and South American records. The previous national mark belonged to Delfina Pignatiello at 8:24.33 from 2019. The continental mark was Pignatiello’s until Australia-based Brazilian Maria Fernanda Costa swiped it from her with an 8:23.98 two weeks ago. Now, the record is back in the hands of the Albiceste, and Costa and Hein could have a dynamic rivalry in this event in the years ahead.

Despite the 4-second time drop, the best was yet to come for Hein in the session. About ten minutes later, she returned in the next event and unleashed a 2:10.82 200 IM for another dominant victory. This slashed over a second off the 2:11.94 national record she set in the event’s prelims. Prior to that, she also held the national record at 2:12.12 from the Junior Pan American Games last year. Moreover, the dominant swim also eclipsed the 2:11.24 South American record that Brazilian Joanna Maranhão established in 2017.

The 2:10.82 checks in as the #2 18 & under performer in the world this season, trailing only Chinese prodigy Yu Zidi. Overall, she ranks 14th for 2025-26.

Similarly, the 8:22.01 ranks her as the #2 junior behind Yang Peiqi and an impressive 7th overall.

Beyond Hein, the most notable performance of the night came from another Argentine age group girl in the 200 IM. 14-year-old Laila Chain touched in 2:13.68 for the silver. For comparison, this time only falls one second off Teagan O’Dell’s 2:12.53 NAG record for Americans for this age group. Chain also added a 28.90 silver in the 50 back behind compatriot Cecilia Delieke, which is also not far from Phoebe Bacon’s 28.57 U.S. NAG.

Other Day 1 Notes:

• Matias Chaillou of Argentina was the lone boy under 50 in the 100 free final with a 49.62. On the women’s side, Angelina Solari took the cake in 56.31, mere tenths off her own Uruguayan NR.
• Brazilian Davi Vallim posted a dominant 25.68 50 back gold
• After a Brazil disqualification, Argentina emerged on top of the mixed 4×100 free relay field, with Hein anchoring in 54.4