Noel, Edghill get Guyanese campaign underway at Olympic Games
…Noel rewrites national record
Guyana’s medal quest at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games began on Saturday morning with two athletes in action. Over in the pool, Raekwon Noel shattered his own national 400 metres freestyle record.
The teenager clocked 4 minutes, 2.29s for second place in his heat. However, the time was not good enough to help Noel advance to the final, consequently ending his outing at this year’s Games. The previous 400m freestyle record of 4 minutes, 3.57s was set by Noel at the 2023 CARIFTA Swimming Championships.
Noel shared in a written statement following the end of his Paris 2024 campaign, “It has been an absolute pleasure to represent Team Guyana at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. My games have come to an end today, and I’m so proud of what I’ve achieved. I am so grateful for the support of the Guyanese people at this time.
Raekwon Noel rewrote the National 400m freestyle record in his time at the Olympic Games
Being an Olympian is an honour and a privilege, and I’m so thankful for every opportunity 1 get. I get to spend the rest of my time here in Paris supporting the great Guyanese athletes. My mission is to make Guyana even more proud in the future. I am excited to get to work with some of the best coaches in the world at Indiana University this fall. Thank you all for believing in me in moments when I didn’t believe in myself. Thank you to God, the South Jersey Aquatic Club, Dorado Speed Swim Club, GDF, GOA and to my friends and family for always supporting me. I love you all. See you again in 4 years.”
On the other hand, Chelsea Edghill went down to Cameroon’s Sarah Hanffou 4-1 in a hard-fought battle, during the preliminary round of the women’s table tennis singles.
Hanffou won the first set 11-6, but the Guyanese fought back, taking the second set 9-11. The third set was a close one, but Hanffou again prevailed, 11-9 ,and won the remaining sets 11-3 and 11-8.
Chelsea Edghill competed in her second Olympic Games in table tennis, a first for the English- speaking Caribbean
Edghill shared on her social media platform after the loss, “Today’s result was definitely not the one we wanted. But sometimes you win some and other times you learn.
“All in all, I wanna say thank you to every single one of you who supported the journey (coaches, physiotherapists, doctors, psychologists, performance coaches, friends, family, mentors & sponsors). Either by cheering for me, coming to my matches, words of encouragement, being that shoulder to cry on and even my voices of reason and even telling me when I’m full of it (delulu if you will). Today, I am happy and filled with contentment for all that you’ve done, all you’ve given, all you’ve sacrificed and all that I am because of it.
“To the GTTA, GOA and the GOG , thank you for allowing me to live out my childhood dreams of representing Guyana at the highest levels. I hope that my performance allows for more of your confidence moving forward and I hope we can achieve more together in the future!
“To all of the fans of #teamchelo and #teamguyana, you guys are the truth! Very positive and great energy always! In times of doubt, your kind words are fuel for continuing to represent this great country.”
Guyana’s next competitor at the Games will be swimmer Aleka Persaud on Tuesday, July 30 in the women’s 100m freestyle.
