Guyana appoints Lourdes Mederos as first full-time national coach

Archery Guyana has appointed Lourdes Mederos as its first full-time national coach.

The appointment, announced last month, establishes the role on a permanent basis after national team coaching responsibilities had previously been handled through short-term engagements.

A former recurve women’s archer for Cuba, Mederos represented her country internationally from 1994 to 2002, competing at world, Pan American and Central American and Caribbean championships.

In her new role, she will oversee the technical development of archers across beginner, junior and elite levels, including strengthening the junior programme, implementing structured national training systems and supporting the development of emerging coaches.

Mederos, who is also known as Coach Lula, will take up her first position as the lead coach of a national team after completing Olympic Solidarity coaching courses. She previously coached provincial teams in Cuba and served as Havana’s provincial sports methodologist from 2004 to 2007.

Archery Guyana president Vidushi Persaud-McKinnon said the appointment marks an important step for the federation as it looks to strengthen its high-performance structure and long-term athlete development.

“Coach Lourdes brings not only elite international experience but a proven record of developing young talent and building structured, high-performance programmes.”

“This appointment signals our commitment to long-term excellence.”