Guyana’s Raekwon Noel secured a creditable fifth-place finish in the men’s 100-metre butterfly final at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Noel touched the wall in 53.58 seconds, narrowly missing fourth place by two-hundredths of a second. Colombia’s David Arias finished just ahead of the Guyanese swimmer in 53.56 seconds.
Venezuela’s Manuel Diaz claimed the gold medal in 52.45 seconds, while compatriot Jorge Otaiza earned silver in 52.91. Trinidad and Tobago’s Dylan Carter completed the podium with a time of 52.99.
Noel was 0.59 seconds outside the bronze-medal position and finished ahead of Mexico’s Jorge Iga, Colombia’s Emiliano Calle, Puerto Rico’s Andres Brooks, Jamaica’s Josh Kirlew and Trinidad and Tobago’s Zerek Wilson.
Earlier, Noel won his preliminary heat convincingly in 53.28 seconds. Carter was second in that race in 54.93, finishing 1.65 seconds behind the Guyanese.
In the women’s 50m backstroke heats, Guyana’s Shareefah Lewis finished second in Heat One with a time of 31.73 seconds. Martinique’s Malia Soroman won the heat in 30.11.
Lewis placed 23rd overall, three positions and 0.87 seconds outside the final qualifying spot. Jamaica’s Carolyn Levy was the last swimmer to advance after clocking 30.86 seconds.
Guyana’s Ariel Rodrigues was also in the opening heat and placed sixth in 32.43 seconds.
Noel is scheduled to return to the pool on Friday when he competes in Heat One of the men’s 100m backstroke.
Discussion