T&T's George Bovell missed out on double gold at the first stop of 2013 FINA Short Course (25m Pool) World Cup when he earned bronze in his pet event, the men's 50m freestyle final at the Pieter van den Hoogenband Swimming Stadium Eindhoven, Holland, yesterday.
Bovell, coming off a gold medal swim 24 hours earlier in the 100m individual medley in a new national record mark, touched the wall in 21 seconds out of lane six, to trail Russian World Long Course 50m freestyle silver medal winner, Vladimir Morozov (20.66), and World Long Course 100m freestyle champion, Australian James Magnussen (20.98), who also won the 100m freestyle (45.60) in Holland on Wednesday.
Fourth home was World and Championship record holder and 50m breaststroke winner (25.86), South African Roland Schoeman, just behind Bovell III in 21.03.
He was followed by Ukraine's Andrey Govorov (21.36), Aussie Matthew Abood (21.37), Belgium's Jasper Aerents (21.57) and Australian Alexander Graham (21.79).
In the morning heats, Bovell, swimming in the fourth of five heats, won in 21.49 seconds to beat Finland's Ari-Pekka Liukkonen (21.75) and Jasper Van Mierlo (21.99), one of four Dutchmen in the race, into second and third respectively.
The 30-year-old Michigan-based T&T swimmer began the 2013 Short Course (25m Pool) World Cup with gold in the 100m individual medley in a new national record mark, on Wednesday, swimming out of lane seven, in 51.15 seconds, which bettered his 51.20 clocking set in winning gold on October 20 last year in Berlin, Germany, the fifth stop of the 2012 World Cup.
Second home in the final was his World Cup rival, Australian Kenneth To in 51.31 while Morozov, got bronze in 51.50.
The other finishers in the final were Australian Daniel Tranter (52.09), Germany's Markus Deibler (52.56), Holland's Mike Marissen (52.97), South African Darian Townsend (53.17) and Japan's Kosuke Kitajima in 53.20.
In the morning session, the Michigan-based Bovell III, swimming out of lane four in the third and final heat was joint-second home with Townsend in 53.29 for the sixth fastest qualifying time overall.
The winner of the heat was Tranter (52.93), while Liukkonen was fourth in 56.31 followed by Switzerland's Donald Cameron (56.87), Spanish duo, Sergio Caballero (1:20.91 mins) and Aitor Grande (1:29.09 mins). Bovell also competed in the men's 50m breaststroke but missed out on a spot in the gold medal splash by one spot after he was fifth in the second and final heat in 27.23 to be the ninth fastest overall.
