Guyanese women miss 50m butterfly progression
Raekwon Noel’s decision to sacrifice the men’s 100-metre backstroke to focus on recovery paid off spectacularly as the Guyanese star broke the Central American and Caribbean Games record to win the men’s 200m freestyle title on Saturday in Santo Domingo.
Noel powered to victory in one minute, 47.08 seconds, earning his third gold medal of the Games and lowering the championship record previously held by Mexico’s Jorge Iga. Iga had clocked 1:47.19 at the 2018 edition in Barranquilla, Colombia.
The withdrawal came after Noel endured consecutive late nights because of post-race anti-doping testing. With additional time to rest, he returned to the pool and defeated a strong field, including the former record-holder.
Iga settled for silver in 1:47.95, while Trinidad and Tobago’s Nikoli Blackman completed the podium in 1:49.41. Mexico’s Daniel Saborio narrowly missed a medal after finishing fourth in 1:49.63.
Venezuela’s Adanuriel Rosal was fifth in 1:51.31, followed by Colombia’s Juan Manuel Morales in 1:51.63 and Honduras’ Gabriel Martinez in 1:51.87. Mauricio Jose Arias of the Dominican Republic finished eighth in 1:53.43, while Venezuela’s Winston Rodriguez placed ninth in 1:54.00.
Noel had earlier signalled his intentions by winning his heat in 1:52.43, almost two seconds ahead of Rosal, who finished second in 1:54.36. Costa Rica’s Alberto Vega was third in 1:55.43.
Honduras’ Christian Serafeim placed fourth in 1:57.40, Haiti’s Raphael Grand’Pierre was fifth in 1:57.91, United States Virgin Islands swimmer Kaeden Gleason finished sixth in 1:59.25, and Dominica’s Seif Hesham Elshekh was seventh in 2:08.20.
The 200m freestyle triumph added to Noel’s outstanding campaign in the Dominican Republic.
He previously won the men’s 200m individual medley in a Games and national-record time of 1:59.35. He also secured the 200m butterfly crown in 1:56.82, improving the former meet record of 1:57.03.
Guyana’s Ariel Rodrigues and Shareefah Lewis were also in action in Heat One of the women’s 50m butterfly, but neither secured progression.
Rodrigues placed third in 31.40 seconds, with Lewis fourth in 31.41. Sint Maarten’s Aday Bourne won the race in 30.95, edging Haiti’s Mayah Chouloute, who registered 30.99. Sint Maarten’s Aiyana Bourne finished fifth in 34.25.
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