ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State's six-time NCAA Division II National Champion swimmer Lamar Taylor has been selected to represent the Bahamas at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.

The native of Freeport, Bahamas, who has rewritten the Red Wave swimming record books in the last two years, is the only male swimmer on the Olympic roster for the Bahamian national team and will compete in the 100-meter freestyle — an event he holds the national record for with a time of 49.33 seconds.

Taylor will be the first Henderson State student-athlete to ever compete at the Olympic Games.

In his career with the Red Wave, Taylor won four individual NCAA DII National Championships and two additional national titles as a member of Henderson's relay teams. He was the 2023 NCAA Division II Swimmer of the Year after winning the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, and 100-yard backstroke. In 2024, he returned to defend his 100-yard freestyle title while also helping HSU capture NCAA crowns as the lead off leg in both the 200-yard and 400-yard medley relays.

Taylor is a two-time New South Intercollegiate Swimming Conference (NSISC) Swimmer of the Year and was the 2022-23 Great American Conference Male Athlete of the Year. He helped lead the Henderson State men's team to their first NSISC Championship in 20 years this spring.

The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad begin with the opening ceremony on July 26 at the Gardens of the Trocadero in Paris. The heats and semifinals for the 100-meter freestyle take place on July 30 with the Olympic Final coming on July 31.