Bronze medal for Bovell III

LANKY George Bovell III joined the short list of Trinidadians to make their mark at Olympic Games, when he touched the wall third to gain the bronze medal in the 200 metres individual medley relay in Athens, Greece yesterday. Getting the bronze behind Americans Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, placed Bovell III alongside sprinter Hasely Crawford, Trinidad and Tobago’s only gold medallist, winning the 100 metres dash at the Montreal 1976, weightlifter Rodney Wilkes who got silver, the first ever medal by a Trinidadian, Wendell Mottley 400 metres silver in Tokyo 1964, and Ato Boldon who earned four Olympic medals, one silver and three bronze.

And it took a new Olympic record time of one minute 57.14 seconds by gold medallist Phelps to deny him. At the end of yesterday’s historical splash, the 20-year-old Bovell III said: “Thank God I could pull it off.  It felt like hell. “I worked very hard and it has paid off.  I did not feel good during the race.  Soon as I dive into the pool I knew I had to pull out everything. “It was a close race in the end.  Good thing I have long arms.” Bovell III was slow off the blocks and at entering the breast-stroke stage was trailing sixth of the eight swimmers. But he put in a fantastic breast-stroke and made up ground rapidly to just finish 0.02 of a second off the silver medal.

Bovell III who promised to be at his fastest at Athens, swam the race of his life in the final which he reached by equalling, then smashing his own national record for the medley. Going into yesterday’s final, Bovell III qualified as only the fifth fastest. But he defied all the odds and lived up to coach Anil Robert’s prediction two years ago, when he told all who would listen, “George is going to medal at the Athens Olympics.”

Here’s how they finished: Men’s 200m medley final — 1. Michael Phelps (USA) 1:57.14 seconds; 2. Ryan Lochte (USA) 1:58.78; 3. George Bovell (TT) 1:58.80; 4. Laszlo Cseh (Hungary) 1:58.84; 5. Thiago Pereira (Brazil) 2:00.11; 6. Takahiro Mori (Japan) 2:00.60; 7. Vytautas Janusaitis (Lithuania) 2:01.28; 8. Jiro Miki (Japan) 2:02.16.