T&T swimmer still recovering from accident injuries
George Bovell III will not represent Trinidad and Tobago at the 2011Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico next month.
Minister of Sport Anil Roberts, who is also Bovell's coach, said that after discussing the matter with the ace swimmer, he decided to withdraw Bovell from the Games due to his ongoing recovery from head injuries sustained in a car crash last month.
Bovell was heading to Mayaro to go spear-fishing following a training session on August 19 when he lost control of his car. The BMW collided with an oncoming truck, but evasive action saved Bovell from severe injury, although he sustained a concussion and a wound to his forehead.
The 2004 Olympics 200-metre individual medley (IM) bronze medallist has resumed light training, but is still suffering some lingering effects of the accident.
Roberts said his recovery was "a little bit slower than anticipated".
Bovell's stitches have been removed but, according to the Minister, the swimmer's short-term memory and cognitive ability are still slightly affected.
"Seeing that we've already reached September 5," Roberts told the Express yesterday, "we don't have enough time to prepare and go to Pan Am Games and perform credibly, which means to win gold.
"We could go there and make the final and so on. But George is a perfectionist, we discussed it with him, so he will miss the Pan American Games and begin training for (2012) London Olympics one time."
The Pan Am Games have been a happy hunting ground for the six-foot five-inch athlete. In 2003 he returned home from Dominican Republic with four medals--gold in the 200m freestyle and 200m IM, and silver in the 100m freestyle and 100m backstroke events.
Four years later, in Brazil, Bovell bagged "50 free" bronze.
Bovell will re-start serious racing in November and is targeting a number of World Cup and Grand Prix events to kick off his Olympic preparations.
For Roberts, that approach is better than trying to risk an athlete who is "not 100 per cent".
"Some people have seen the car (from the accident) parked up at Sangre Grande Police Station and can't believe that he's alive. We thank God for that; he's healthy, so even though he had to miss this one, that's alright."
Roberts said the swimmer is not happy with having to sit out the Games. He is confident, though, that Bovell will bounce back.
"He is disappointed, because he was looking forward to it. Even on the hospital bed the day of the accident he was telling me he's ready to win gold. He was a little bit upset, but the way George is, he always just shifts the goalposts and sets his goals, so London 2012, here we come."
Source: www.trinidadexpress.com