Guyana’s leading swimmer Raekwon Noel produced a historic performance on Tuesday night, winning the men’s 200m individual medley and delivering the country’s first gold medal of the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games.
Noel stormed to victory in 1:59.35 at the Juan Pablo Duarte Aquatic Center in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, breaking both the Games record and his own Guyana national record (set earlier in the day).
The Guyanese finished 0.72 seconds ahead of Mexico’s Humberto Najera, who claimed silver in 2:00.07. Guatemala’s Erick Gordillo earned bronze with a time of 2:01.29.
Noel’s winning swim erased Gordillo’s previous CAC Games record of 2:00.97, which was established in San Salvador in 2023.
It was also Noel’s second national record of the day. He had earlier led the qualifiers with a time of 2:01.73, lowering his previous national mark of 2:04.01 before improving by more than two seconds in the final.
The victory took Noel below the two-minute barrier and confirmed his place among the region’s top swimmers.
Speaking after the race, Noel expressed gratitude to supporters in Guyana. He explained that although he was not currently using social media, he knew that people at home were supporting him.
Noel said he remained proud to compete for Guyana and hoped his performances would inspire younger athletes and encourage them to pursue their sporting goals.
Teenager Shareefah Lewis also rewrote Guyana’s record books during the women’s 50m freestyle competition.
Lewis broke the national record in the heats with a time of 26.95 seconds before improving to 26.69 in the B final, where she placed fourth.
Her performance replaced the previous national record of 27.76 held by Olympian Aleka Persaud since the Tokyo Games in 2021.
Bermuda’s Madelyn Moore won the B final in 26.17, with Barbados’ Heidi Stoute second in 26.24 and United States Virgin Islands swimmer Reagan Uszenski third in 26.31.
Colombia’s Sirena Rowe won the A final and the gold medal in a new Games-record time of 24.89. Mexico’s Celia Pulido finished second in 25.35, while El Salvador’s Marina Spadoni took third in 25.42.
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