Valeria Cilleruelo crossed the line in Gualeguaychú and found a gold medal at 44

At the edge of the Limay River, in Neuquén, the morning brings a particular kind of silence, and Valeria Cilleruelo has learned to find in that silence the strength to organize a life that starts before dawn and ends much later. She is a Physical Education teacher at two schools, the mother of 12-year-old Emma and, at 44, an athlete who has been training year-round for 26 years. The routine leaves little room for anything else, but this year it took her to a World Cup in Gualeguaychú, where she won gold in K2 with Victoria Sánchez and took third place in K1.

The trip was not a simple matter of packing sports equipment and boarding a bus. Cilleruelo had qualified for two previous world championships, but the cost of travel always exceeded what she could cover on her own. The sports preparation, competition expenses and journeys have been resolved with her own resources for years. In 2025, for the first time, the championship was held in Argentina. In April, she went to Gualeguaychú for the national qualifying event, finished first and secured her place in the World Cup. Months later, she returned to compete in both categories for which she had prepared.

From last place to the podium

In the individual kayak race, the nerves took their toll from the start. She began behind and spent several sections near the back of the field, but instead of accepting a frustrating result, she began cutting the gaps until she caught the competitors fighting for third place. The podium, in that context, was the result of a comeback and a clear demonstration of her character. Then came the K2, the event that would end with gold alongside Victoria Sánchez, a young athlete from Viedma with whom she had never trained before.

“I could never go to the other world championships. I never received any support or help to be able to travel.”Valeria Cilleruelo

The two athletes met on the water on the day of the race. They managed to build a lead over the rest of the field and crossed the finish line in first place. For Cilleruelo, the medal was not only the reward for a career of sustained effort, but also the overcoming of an obstacle that had accompanied her for years: the impossibility, until this championship, of financing her participation in the competitions she had earned the right to attend.

• Valeria Cilleruelo is a Physical Education teacher at two schools in Neuquén.
• She is the mother of Emma, 12, and raises her on her own.
• She has competed in canoeing for 26 years and trains throughout the year.
• She won gold in K2 with Victoria Sánchez and third place in K1 at the world championship in Gualeguaychú.

Her connection with the sport began at 18, when a neighbor invited her to row during the summer. She had no previous knowledge of canoeing. The first time she climbed into a boat on the Limay River was enough to mark her life. What followed was a long process of commitment, with training and preparation becoming part of the family routine, even as she combined sports with work and motherhood.

“I loved getting into the boat, that feeling of being on the water. That first contact was what motivated me to keep rowing.”Valeria Cilleruelo

The river remains her reference point. For Cilleruelo, rowing is also a way of disconnecting from the pressures of daily life, especially when work, the care of her daughter and training demand so much of her time. Around the neighborhoods of Neuquén, people like Marcelo, a regular at the river, know that this athlete has built her achievements without institutional support and without easy access to the resources needed to travel. Her result in Gualeguaychú also speaks to the value of persistence when an athlete has to organize every aspect of her career almost alone.

After crossing the finish line in first place, Cilleruelo did not describe the medal as a point of arrival. The gold came with a message: the river can still offer her challenges, while her daily life continues between the school, training and the responsibility of raising Emma. As she said after the competition, “the important thing is to keep going, because every time you row, you keep believing that you can do it.”