3 Caribbean swimmers fall short of Olympic semis

The Paris Olympic Games kicked off with a splash at the Paris La Defence Arena on Saturday, but unfortunately, it wasn’t the start our Caribbean swimmers were hoping for.

Jadon Wuilliez from Antigua and Barbuda, Alexandre Grand’pierre of Haiti, and Guyana’s Raekwon Noel all gave their best in their respective events, but sadly, none of them managed to advance to the semi-finals.

In the 100m breaststroke, Wuilliez and Grand’pierre put up a good fight. Wuilliez clocked in at 1:02.70, securing a second-place finish in his heat.

Grand’pierre wasn’t far behind, finishing fourth in his heat with a time of 1:02.85. Despite these solid performances, their times placed them 26th and 28th overall, respectively, which wasn’t quite enough to move forward in the competition.

Meanwhile, Raekwon Noel, making his Olympic debut, competed in the 400m freestyle. He had an impressive showing, finishing second in his heat with a time of 4:02.29. However, in the broader context of the competition, this placed him 34th overall, falling short of the semi-final cut-off.

He already took to social media to thank the people of Guyana for their support saying, “Being an Olympian is an honour and a privilege and I’m so thankful for every opportunity I get.”

Only the top 16 can advance to the next round.