July 10, 2012
Princess Anne, Md. --The opportunity to represent your country in the Olympics is a rare occurrence, and one that many dream of doing one day in their athletic careers. For Lenora Guion-Firmin that rare opportunity recently became a dream come true when she earned a spot on the 2012 French Olympic 4x400-meter Relay team. Guion-Firmin also competes for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and is a school record holder.
Guion-Firmin earned a silver medal in the 4x400-meter relay in the 2012 European Athletics Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Guion-Firmin ran the second-leg of the event, and helped the team finish in a time of 3:25.49. In the race, Guion-Firmin helped the French team reach a second-place position after the team trailed to Ukraine.
Her teammates in the 4x400-meter relay were-Phara Anacharsis, Marie Gayot and Floria Guei. All of those that ran in the relay will compete for France in the Olympics. Guion-Firmin is making her first appearance for the French team.
"This is such a privilege for her (Guion-Firmin) to represent her country," said UMES head coach Ernest Barrett. "It is every track athletes dream to run in the Olympic Games," Barrett continued.
Guion-Firmin has also represented UMES in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships in June. Her 52.65-second time in the 400-meter dash earned her on the NCAA First-Team All-American honors. She is the only female in UMES history to receive All-American recognition in both indoor and outdoor track.
She has a personal best time and school record of 52.20 seconds. Guion-Firmin also holds the UMES record of 23.49 seconds in the 200-meter dash. In the outdoor track season she ran a team's best 12.07-second time in the 100-meter dash.
Guion-Firmin has finished first or second in eight events in the 2012 outdoor track season, including the NCAA Championships. She has had four first-place finishes, two in the 400-meter dash and one in the 100 and 200-meter dash events. "Her points alone helped elevate UMES into the top 60 track and field programs in the country," Barrett remarked. Guion-Firmin will be the only UMES student-athlete currently to represent the team and their country in this years games.
The 2012 Olympic Games will be take place in London, England on July 27 and continue until August 12.