Raekwon Noel claims gold and sets national record at Pan Am Aquatics

Guyana’s Raekwon Noel has secured a gold medal in the men’s 100m butterfly at the ongoing Pan American Aquatic Championships in Medellín, Colombia.

Competing in the 19-22 age category, Noel delivered a strong performance, touching the wall in a time of 54.00 seconds.

This swim earned him the gold medal and established a new national record for Guyana in the event.

His time of 54.00 seconds significantly lowered his previous national record of 56.35 seconds, which was set in February 2023 at the National Aquatic Centre.

Noel finished ahead of Manuel Diaz of Venezuela and Andrés Brooks of Puerto Rico, who took silver and bronze, respectively.

Noel is scheduled to compete in other events at the championships, including the 200m butterfly, 100m backstroke, and 400m freestyle.

In other Guyana results, Shareefah Lewis competed in the girls’ 16-18 50m backstroke, finishing in eighth place with a time of 33.47 seconds in the final.

This was an improvement on her heat time of 34.12 seconds.

Lewis is also entered in the 50m butterfly and freestyle events.

The Guyanese delegation in Colombia also includes Mary Chung as travelling coach and Abigail Giddings as congress representative.