Government outlines Olympic support for swimming star Noel

The Government of Guyana has strengthened its support for record-breaking swimmer Raekwon Noel, as preparations begin for his campaign toward the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Charles Ramson Jr and Minister within the Ministry Steven Jacobs recently met with the 20-year-old swimmer to discuss the requirements for his continued development.
The discussions covered high-performance training camps, elite development programmes, key international competitions, and nutritional support. Financial assistance was also presented to Noel to address his immediate training needs.
The meeting followed Noel’s historic performance at the 2026 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where he won three Gold medals and established three Games records.
Noel opened his campaign by winning the men’s 200-metre individual medley in one minute, 59.35 seconds. The performance established national and CAC Games records, and made him the first swimmer in the event’s Games history to finish below two minutes.

He secured another Gold medal in the men’s 200-metre butterfly, clocking 1:56.82 to beat the previous Games record of 1:57.03. The time was just outside his Guyana record of 1:56.62, which he established earlier in 2026.
Noel also competed in the men’s 100-metre butterfly, winning his preliminary heat in 53.28 seconds, before placing fifth in the final with 53.58 seconds.
He later withdrew from the 100-metre backstroke to conserve energy, following consecutive late nights associated with post-race anti-doping procedures.
That decision paid off when he won the men’s 200-metre freestyle in a national and Games record of 1:47.08. The previous CAC Games record of 1:47.19 was established by Mexico’s Jorge Iga in 2018.
Noel ended the swimming competition with Gold medals in the 200-metre individual medley, 200-metre butterfly, and 200-metre freestyle. His three-Gold campaign represented Guyana’s most successful swimming performance at the CAC Games.
The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and the Government of Guyana have reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Noel and his team on the journey to Los Angeles 2028.