Bovell 5th in 100m final

ACE national swimmer George Bovell III finished fifth in the men’s 100-metres freestyle final in the third leg of the Mare Nostrum meet at Barcelona, Spain, yesterday. The 20-year-old Auburn University student clocked 50.58 seconds with Russian great Alexander Popov claiming gold in 49.83 seconds.

But according to Bovell’s local coach Anil Roberts, Bovell had earlier defeated the 32-year-old Popov in the heats, clocking 50.58 seconds to Popov’s 50.68. Roberts described Bovell’s final performance as “fantastic” and noted that the duo were expected to arrive in Rome, Italy, today for the final leg of the meet. “I’m extremely happy with his preparation for the Athens Olympics and he’ll will be just fine, barring any injuries or illness,” said Roberts.