SWIMMING RESUME /  CAREER STATS

George Bovell is the most successful swimmer in history to come out of the Caribbean. George has participated in the last three Olympiads for Trinidad and Tobago and intends to compete at a fourth. Some highlights of his illustrious career thus far include winning the Olympic Bronze Medal and breaking the World Record in the 200m Individual Medley, Capturing 5 Pan American Medals (2 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze), and 5 individual NCAA Titles. George is currently the Fourth Fastest Man in History in the 50m Freestyle.

Coming from a family with a great history of involvement in sport, it was only natural that George followed suit. George’s mother Barbara was an Olympic Runner and a Canadian National Champion. His Father was a successful collegiate swimmer and Trinidad and Tobago Sports man of the year. George’s Brother Nicholas is also an Olympic swimmer.

George learned to swim in the sea and his Grandmother’s pool at a very young age. He participated in many sports growing up which included tennis, cricket, football, gymnastics, and sailing but gravitated towards the water. From the age of 7 George started competitive swimming. Over the next few years George would travel throughout the Caribbean competing at the age group level honing the skills that would later take him all over the world.

In 1999 George first stepped onto the international stage, competing at the US Open and the Pan-American Games. In 2000 George left Trinidad to attend the Bolles School in Jacksonville Florida where he was able to further his swimming. From there he was recruited by many Universities but chose to attend Auburn University. There George won 5 individual individual NCAA titles, 8 SEC titles, 25 All American Honors( the most in Auburn history) and was part of the first class in the history of NCAA sports to finish their eligibility undefeated.

In the fall of 2004 George suffered a severe knee injury that would prevent him from swimming breastroke and competing in the individual medley. This forced him to focus on his second best events which were the 200m free and the 100m free. In 2006 George left Auburn to train for sprint freestyle events under the tutelage of Mike Bottom at Cal Berkeley. There under the coaching of Mike, George learned proper sprinting technique. George then followed Mike to the Raceclub in the Florida Keys, in the summer of 2007 to join a group of professional swimmers from around the world known as the world team as they trained for the 2008 Olympics. There George faced off everyday against the Gold Medalist and Silver Medalist in the 50m freestyle from the 2004 Olympics. In Beijing George broke the Olympic record in the heats but wasn’t able to secure a spot in the finals, finishing 11th in the 50 freestyle.

After the Olympics George returned to Auburn University, where he continued to train as he finished his degree in Building Science. In the summer of 2009 George broke the World Championships Record and became the fourth fastest man in history in the 50 meters freestyle.

After coaching himself  for the summer racing season of 2010, George realized he could not go it alone and has since returned to Trinidad to team up  1 on 1 with his old Olympic Coach Anil Roberts who is currently the Minister of Sport. Swimming is big part of George’s life and he intends to live it to the fullest.

Bovell finished up the 2010 with stellar performances at the World  Championships in Dubai, finishing 4th in the 100 m IM and 10th in 50m free. He is currently ranked 4th and 10th in the world for the year respectively.

This was the second consecutive year that he is top 4 in the world.

In the summer of 2011 Bovell placed 7th in the finals of the World Swimming Championships, proving that he is a medal contender for 2012.