Source: www.guardian.co.tt
By: Nigel Simon
T&T’s George Bovell III missed out on a medal at the 14th FINA World Long Course Championships when finished seventh in the men’s 50m freestyle final at the Indoor Stadium, Oriental Sports Centre, Shanghai, China, yesterday. The 27-year-old Bovell III, swimming out of lane one was slow to react to the starter and was seventh off the blocks, a positition he maintained until the end of the race in 22.04 seconds, ahead of South Africa’s Gideon Louw (22.11). The winner was Brazilian, Cesar Filho Cielo, the world and Olympic champion who retained his title with a 21.52 clocking while Italy’s Luca Dotto got silver in 21.90, and Frenchman, Alain Bernard, bronze in 21.92. The other finishers in the final were American champion, Nathan Adrian (21.93), Brazil’s Bruna Fratus (21.96) and Hungarian, Krisztian Takacs (21.99).
Two years ago in Rome, Italy, Bovell III broke the 50m freestyle world record of 21.69 with a sizzling 21.64 clocking in the heats which was then bettered by Cielo in the final with a 21.08 clocking, but he failed to reproduce that form this time around. In Friday’s semifinal, Bovell III who was competing in his seventh World Championship final, was joint fourth in the second semifinal in a season best 22.02 seconds, the same time as Low to qualify for the gold medal splash as the joint sixth fastest swimmer. The time by the 2004 Olympic bronze medal winner Bovell III bettered his previous best for the year of 22.31 set at the Paris Open last month. First home in Bovell III’s semifinal was Fratus (21.76) followed by Cielo (21.79), Takacs (21.97), Low and Bovell III, Russia’s Sergey Fesikov (22.09), Australian Matthew Abood (22.16) and South African, Roland Schoeman (22.42).
In the first semifinal Adrian won in 21.94 followed by Dotto (21.97), Olympic medallist Alain Bernard (22.07), Australian Matthew Targett (22.09), Italy’s Marco Orsi (22.13), Great Britain’s Adam Brown (22.21), Sweden’s Stefan Nystrand (22.23) and Russian, Andrey Grechin (22.36). Earlier in the morning heats, Bovell III, competing in the 15th of 16 events and from a difficult lane eight, was joint winner in 22.03 seconds with USA’s Adrian, who raced from lane four. Their time was equalled by Cielo, when he won heat 14. Bovell III and Adrian were followed home in their heat by Takacs (22.15), Fesikov (22.16), Bernard (22.19), Dotta (22.25), Targett (22.31) and Canadian champion Brent Hayden, 22.34. Also in action, yesterday was Cherelle Thompson who was fifth in heat eight of the women’s 50m freestyle in 27.21 seconds for 42nd spot overall. The other team member Joshua Mc Leod competed in the 50m and 100m butterfly, and placed 29th and 45th respectively. Bovell and his coach, Minister of Sport Anil Roberts return home at 4:56am on a Continental flight on Wednesday while Thompson, Mc Leod and head coach Joseph Mc Leod arrive on Tuesday. Amateur Swimming Association of T&T president, Lindsay Gillette arrived yesterday.