Bovell qualifies for 200IM final

ATHENS, Greece: Trinidad and Tobago’s George Bovell became the first Swimming finalist for the English-speaking Caribbean at the 2004 Athens Olympics, when he placed third in his semi-final of the men’s 200 metres individual medley at the Aquatic Centre last night. Bovell, widely regarded as a strong medal contender in the event, battled to a time of two minutes 00.31 seconds to advance to today’s final as the fifth fastest qualifier. “It was a comfortable swim,” said Bovell, who prepares now for the big medal race at 8.18 pm today Greece time. “I’ll  now  get some rest, lay low and treat it like another day at the office,” Bovell added. The 21-year-old double Pan Am Games champion completed the “first 50” butterfly split at 26.52 for joint fourth, moved up to third at the halfway mark, and held that position until the finish.

Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh led from the start and won in 1:59.65, chased by Brazilian Thiago Pereira (2:00.07), with Bovell third, and Japan’s Takahiro Mori fourth in 2:00.57 and also getting into the final as the joint sixth fastest qualifier. Gold medal favourite Michael Phelps of the USA had won the first semi-final in an Olympic record 1:58.52, erasing the previous mark of 1:58.98 by Italian Massimiliano Rosolino, who was bounced out of the final last night with a sixth place finish in Bovell’s heat. American Ryan Lochte finished second to Phelps in semi-final one and was also inside the  previous record, as he clocked 1:59.58.

In track and field, Bovell’s TT team-mate Cleopatra Borel was unable to repeat her strong morning effort in the preliminaries of the shot put and did not challenge for a medal at the Ancient Olympia Stadium, over 200 kilometres outside of the city. Russian Irina Korzhanenko won the gold medal with a season’s best 21.06 metres, topping the big Cuban Yumileidi Cumba, who had problems “fouling three of her first five throws” before registering a huge final effort 19.59 metres. Borel, who logged a national record 18.90 metres and qualified with the fourth best mark in the morning, placed 11th at 18.35 metres.