THE country’s top swimmers Raekwon Noel and Aleka Persaud are already in the Singapore to represent Guyana in the 2025 World Aquatics Swimming Championships.

Noel, who is the first male Guyanese to qualify directly for the event, will suit up for the 100 and 200-metres butterfly events.

He will first dive into the pool next Tuesday in the 200 metres then the 100 metres on August 1.

Earlier this year, At the PANAM Aquatics Championships in Colombia, the 20-year-old Noel qualified for the World Aquatics Championships through the ‘B’ standard in the 200 metres freestyle event.

In the event he rewrote the history books with a new national record in the 200 metres butterfly, where he also picked up a gold medal.

The two minutes 02.52 seconds time eclipsed his old record of 2.05.65, set during the July 2023 World Championships in Japan.

Noel went on to capture a total of four gold medals in that class and resetting records in the 400 metres, 800 metres and 1500 metres freestyle events, as well as the 50 metres and 100 metres back-stroke events.

Fellow Olympian Persaud is set to compete in the 100 metres freestyle and 100 metres butterfly, the first of which is set for July 31 and the second on July 27.

The duo also represented Guyana at the Paris Olympics, while Persaud also featured at the Tokyo Games.

The 19-year-old Persaud is the foremost female athlete in Guyana with national records in the women 50 metres and 100 metres butterfly and 200 medley.

The team in Singapore is led by coach Sean Baksh.