Rodrigo Caffa won the men's 16,000 metres race, recording a time of 1 hour 15min 38sec at the Blue Stadium in Rosario to do so.

In second was Venezuela's José Silva in 1:19:03 and Chile's Camilo Valdés third in 1:22:12.

"I am very happy, I come from a difficult year and I want to enjoy it with my family and friends," he said.

"I'm going to celebrate with the Rosario and Argentines.

"The South American Games are a unique event, I am very grateful."

His compatriot Cecilia Collueque took gold in the women's 16,000m final, winning with a time of 1:32:09.

She beat Venezuela's Mairovi Jaspe in 1:33:33 and Uruguay's Nadia Segovia in 1:44:45.

"I am very happy to win such an important tournament," Collueque said.

"I really like the atmosphere of Rosario and the encouragement of the people."

Today's success brought Argentina's gold medal tally up to five, putting them at the top of the table.

The hosts are also looking good in the beach volleyball competition, with three Argentinian pairs progressing to the semi-finals. 

Brenda Churin and Virginia Zonta defeated Venezuela's Gabriela Brito and Noribeth Agudo 21-18, 19-21, 15-13 to make the next round of the women's tournament, while compatriots Ana Gallay and Fernanda Pereyra beat Paraguay's Michelle Valiente and Giuliana Poletti 21-18, 21-13.

Nicolás Capogrosso and Julián Azaad then won against fellow Argentians Mauro Zelayeta and Juan Bautista Amieva 21-12, 21-19 in the men's competition.