Guyana’s Raekwon Noel captured his second gold medal of the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games after producing a record-breaking swim in the men’s 200-metre butterfly final on Wednesday evening in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic.
Noel powered to victory in one minute, 56.82 seconds at the Juan Pablo Duarte Aquatic Center, breaking the Games record of 1:57.03 set by Colombia’s Jonathan Gómez at the 2018 edition in Barranquilla.
Venezuela’s Manuel Diaz secured the silver medal in 1:58.07, finishing 1.25 seconds behind the Guyanese, while Mexico’s Rafael Arizpe claimed bronze in 1:58.77.
Although Noel’s winning time was 0.20 seconds outside his personal best and Guyana national record of 1:56.62, it was enough to deliver another historic performance for Guyana.
His national record was established on June 19, 2026, during the TYR Pro Swim Series in Indianapolis, United States.
Noel had earlier won Heat Three of the 200m butterfly in 1:59.52 to qualify for the medal race. Puerto Rico’s Andres Brooks finished second in the heat in 2:00.54, while El Salvador’s Rodrigo Ventura was third in 2:00.98.
The victory continued Noel’s outstanding campaign after he won the men’s 200m individual medley on Tuesday evening. That performance also saw him break the CAC Games record and lower Guyana’s national record.
Speaking after Wednesday’s final, Noel said his time was slightly outside what he had hoped to produce but pledged to continue working on improving it.
He will return to the pool on Thursday to compete in the men’s 100m butterfly.
The world record in the men’s 200m butterfly remains 1:50.34, established by Hungary’s Kristof Milak in Budapest in June 2022.
Two other Guyanese swimmers also competed in the freestyle heats on Wednesday.
Patrice Mahaica placed seventh in Heat One of the women’s 100m freestyle, clocking 1:08.02 from lane two. Antigua and Barbuda’s Alandra Dublin won the heat in 1:01.54, ahead of Guadeloupe’s Mila Duprat, who recorded 1:01.76.
Paul Mahaica finished eighth in Heat Two of the men’s 100m freestyle in 57.20 seconds. Suriname’s Ismael Holtuin won the race in 51.87, while Barbados’ Amani Millar was second in 53.27.
Discussion