Cayetana Chirinos delivered an outstanding performance at the South American U20 Athletics Championships, achieving a personal best in the 100 meters and securing her qualification for next year’s World Athletics U20 Championships in the United States.
Her time also marked the eighth time she has broken the Peruvian U18 national record in the sprint event.
Clocking 11.75 seconds, Chirinos placed fourth in the 100-meter final at Lima’s Villa Deportiva Nacional (Videna - National Sports Village), meeting the qualifying standard for Oregon 2026. Her result also set a new Peruvian U18 national record in the event, underscoring her rapid athletic progression.
The 17-year-old sprinter came within just one hundredth of a second of tying the senior national record (11.74 s) held by Paula Dariuch, an achievement that highlights her growing potential.
Chirinos also made an impressive showing in the 200 meters, an event she began competing in only a year ago.
She placed fourth in the final with a time of 24.50 seconds, after running a wind-assisted 24.32 in the semifinal (+3.2 m/s). With that, she remains within striking distance of the qualifying mark (24.35 s) for the U20 World Championships.
At the South American U20 meet, she helped set another national U18 record —this time in the women’s 4x100 relay (46.78 seconds)— alongside Romina Fiol, Mafer Acevedo, and Catalina Yzaga.
"Goals achieved, dreams in motion. I’m incredibly happy with my performance and deeply grateful to my coach, Katsuhico Nakaya, for believing in me when balancing architecture studies and elite-level training seemed impossible," Chirinos said after the meet in Lima.
Currently pursuing a degree in Architecture at the Peruvian University of Applied Sciences (UPC), Chirinos splits her time between her studies in Lima and her training sessions at the High-Performance Center in São Paulo.
She is now heading to Santiago, Chile, to compete at the New Balance Finals, which will gather the top youth athletes from across the continent.
In Chile, the Peruvian sprinter will compete in both the 100 and 200 meters, aiming once again to hit the qualifying time of 24.35 seconds for Oregon 2026 in the latter event.