Raekwon Noel was a force to be reckoned with in the pools at the Centro Olímpico Juan Pablo Duarte in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Tuesday and Wednesday evening, even going on to smash a Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games record.
On Tuesday, Noel made a dominant start to his campaign in the Men’s 200m Individual Medley with a victory in heat one of the event.
The 20-year-old stopped the clock at two minutes, 01.73 seconds for the win, followed by Puerto Rico’s Xavier Ruiz in two minutes, 02.38 seconds, and Colombia’s Simon Bermudez in 2 minutes, 02.65 seconds.
Later that evening, in the final, Noel was rampant, clocking one minute, 59.35 seconds for the Gold medal win. Not only did he rewrite the Guyanese national record, but he also smashed the CAC Games record.
Noel also became the first Guyanese man to swim under two minutes in that event.
He bested Mexico’s Humberto Najera, who clocked two minutes, 0.07 seconds, and Guatemala’s Erick Gordillo, in two minutes, 1.29 seconds, who settled for Silver and Bronze, respectively.
Noel later reacted to the victory, expressing his intention to be a role model for up- and-coming athletes.
“I’d just like to say thank you to everyone back in Guyana for your support. I mean, I’m not on any social media right now, but I know the comments are flooding with love, and I’m really thankful to be a part of the entire story Guyana has to offer,” Noel shared.
He added, “We have so much potential; you know we have great athletes in the future too, and I just want to be a role model for as many Guyanese as possible to see that this is something that anyone can achieve and you can do it any day.”
On Wednesday, Noel followed up his win with another victory in the 200m Butterfly.
That morning, he clocked one minute, 59.52 seconds to become the fastest qualifier across three heats. The Guyanese was followed by Puerto Rico’s Andres Brooks in two minutes and 0.54 seconds, and El Salvador’s Rodrigo Ventura in two minutes and 0.98 seconds.
Replicating his dominance from the evening prior, Noel touched the board at one minute, 56.82 seconds for his second Gold medal at the games. The Guyanese was just split seconds away from reaching or breaking his national record of 1:56.62, set last month at the TYR Pro Swim Series.
Venezuela’s Manuel Diaz clocked 1.58.07 for the Silver, while Mexico’s Rafael Rizpe completed the podium with a Bronze medal swim in one minute, 58.77 seconds. Puerto Rico’s Andres Brooks equalled Rizpe’s 1:58.77 for a joint Bronze medal.
Noel is expected to take on the men’s 100m butterfly next, which is scheduled for tomorrow.
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