T&T Olympic athlete George Bovell placed third in his Heat of the Men's 50 metre Freestyle Swim event in Rio today but failed to advance to the semifinals with a time of 22.30 seconds. Bovell, who swam in Heat 8, was beaten by China's Yu Hexin, who placed first with a time of 22.20 seconds and Poland's Filip Wypych, who placed second with a time of 22.23 seconds.
Bovell finished 27th overall. Only the first 16 swimmers advance to the semifinal round.
None of the swimmers in Bovell's Heat advanced to the semifinal round.
This is Bovell's 5th Olympic Games. In 2004 he won a bronze medal for T&T, becoming the first athlete from this country to do so in a swimming event.
In an interview following his heat, Bovell encouraged everyone in T&T to get involved and spoke about the new Aquatic Centre in T&T, meant to develop swimming in the country.
"It's about the journey not the destination. I just wanted to commit fully to the process," Bovell said.
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