T&T Olympic bronze medal swimmer, George Bovell III is hoping to be very competitive at the tenth Fina World Swimming Championships, at the Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Sports Complex, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The 27-year-old Bovell and fellow swimmers Cherelle Thompson, and Joshua Mc Leod, along with coach Joseph Mc Leod, left here last night for the Dubai where they will compete from December 15 � 19. Speaking on the eve of his departure, Bovell, said: "I would like to be very competitive even though I have some challenging travel plans to overcome. He explained, "We leave on Thursday night and fly overnight to London. There is then a day layover and then the next night we head to Dubai. "That's almost two days of travelling before I begin to compete on the 16th."
Going into the meet, the top T&T swimmer said he was feeling some pressure to impress as always. Asked if he was satisfied with his technique, Bovell said, "From my last meet at the Canadian Open I know I have some mistakes to work on as some details were sloppy. Once we work on them I will be able to go fast," ended Bovell. It will be Bovell's third Fina Short Course Championship after competing in Russia (2002) and Manchester (2008), both times getting to finals of events. In Dubai, Bovell III will face stiff competition from former training partners, Olympic champion, Brazilian Cesar Cielo and France's Frederic Bousquest.
Other top swimmers listed to compete are USA's Nathan Adrian and France's Alain Bernard. Bovell will swim the 50 freestyle, 100m freestyle and 100m individual medley. Mc Leod also competes in 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle as well as the 50m butterfly and 100m butterfly, while Thompson faces the starter for the 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle. Team manager, Gary Morales and Roberts, who were invited to the Championship by Fina to conduct meetings with its executive, leave on Sunday for Dubai. Roberts will at the same time assist Bovell.
