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 comet rue 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 silvermedal in the 4x400-meter relay in the 2012European
Athletics Championships inHelsinki, Finland. Guion-Firmin ran the second-leg of the
event, and helped the teamfinish 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 Gayotand Floria
Guei. All of those that ran inthe relay will compete for France in the Olympics. Guion-
Firmin is making her firstappearance for the French team.
"This is such a privilege forher (Guion-Firmin) to represent her country,"said UMES
head coach Ernest Barrett. "Itis every track athletes dream to run in the Olympic
Games," Barrett continued.
Guion-Firmin has also representedUMES in the National Collegiate AthleticAssociation
Championships in June. Her 52.65-second time in the 400-meter dash earnedher on the
NCAA First-Team All-American honors. She is the only female in UMEShistory to
receive All-American recognition in both indoor and outdoor track.
She has a personal best timeand school record of 52.20 seconds. Guion-Firminalso holds
the UMES record of 23.49 seconds in the 200-meter dash. In the outdoor trackseason she
ran a team's best 12.07-secondtime in the 100-meter dash.
Guion-Firmin has finishedfirst or second in eight events in the 2012 outdoortrack
season, including the NCAA Championships. She has had four first-placefinishes, two in
the 400-meter dash and onein the 100 and 200-meter dash events. "Her points alone
helped elevate UMES into thetop 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 year's game.
The 2012 Olympic Games will be take place in London, England on July 27 and continue
until August 12.
