T&T Olympic Games-bound swimmer George Bovell III said yesterday he was happy with his performances at the four-day Canada Cup, which ended at the Montreal Olympic Park 50m pool on Sunday.
Bovell III, a seven-time World Championship finalist, won gold in the 50m backstroke, 50m freestyle and a bronze in the 100m freestyle. Last Friday, the 28-year-old claimed bronze in the men's 100m freestyle A final in 49.90 to trail club-mates Milorad Cavic (49.32) and Robert Savulich (49.58). This after he was second in the sixth of eight heats in 50.60 behind Cavic (50.20). He then opted out of the 100m backstroke on Saturday, before returning to the pool for his double-gold swim on Sunday's final day of competition.
First up, the Auburn University graduate touched the wall in 22.01 seconds well ahead of his team-mate Duje Draganja (22.97) and Robert Savulich (23.00) to complete a Club Wolverine medal sweep. Earlier on Sunday morning, Bovell III also topped the field in the 50m freestyle heats in 22.31 seconds ahead of Luke Peddie (23.25), Savulich (23.30), Richard Hortness (23.40) and Draganja (23.45). And in his third and final event, the T&T swimmer outclassed the field in the men's 50m backstroke in 25.80 seconds, a new national record to beat Charles Francis (26.04) and Jeffrey Swanston (26.49) into second and third place respectively. In the morning heats, Bovell, a double gold and silver Pan American Games medalist, clocked 26.45 seconds to finish behind Francis (26.22) as the top qualifiers for the final. Commenting on his overall showing in his last competitive meet before he goes into battle in London at the Aquatic Centre, Bovell said: "The times were fast. My 50 freestyle time would have won the prestigious Paris Open which was won by Matthew Target of Australia (22.14).
"So I was faster than everyone else this weekend and I expect to get faster as I really rest and recover over the next 25 days in order to peak at the Olympics." With regards to his 100m backstroke he said: "It was about the same as it has been all year. The swims were solid all round." Reflecting on his decision to skip the 100m backstroke, Bovell said he scratched because his body was just too broken down. Bovell, who won bronze in the 200m individual medley at the 2004 Olympics, said he was just going to rest and sharpen up. "I noticed a few things that I need to fine tune and was pleasantly surprised that some things that I have been struggling with are coming together nicely." With his competitive schedule behind him, Bovell and his club-mates are set to head to a training camp in Spain today. The Canada meet was the first for Bovell since he won a gold and two bronze medals at the Longhorn Aquatics Elite Invitational Meet in Texas during the first week of June. At the meet, Bovell won gold in the 50m freestyle (22.11 secs) while he was third in both the 100m backstroke (56.06 secs) and 100m freestyle (49.84 secs).
