Guyana’s Raekwon Noel withdrew from the men’s 100-metre backstroke on Friday to focus on Saturday’s 200m freestyle at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
The decision was made after the star swimmer endured limited rest following his medal-winning performances earlier in the competition.
According to a source within the Guyana camp, Noel had approximately five hours of sleep on each of the previous two nights because of lengthy anti-doping procedures for the event’s winners.
The source explained that urine testing continued beyond 10:00pm, while some athletes were also required to provide blood samples. Heavy traffic then made the return journey to the Games Village last approximately one hour.
Noel has been one of Guyana’s standout performers at the Games, winning two gold medals and setting new Games records in the men’s 200m individual medley and 200m butterfly.
He also lowered his own Guyana national record in the 200m individual medley.
The withdrawal from the backstroke event will give Noel additional time to recover before returning to the pool for the 200m freestyle on Saturday.
Discussion