George Richard Lytcott Bovell is an Olympic bronze medalist swimmer and former world record holder from Trinidad and Tobago. Bovell is also a two-time World Championship bronze medalist, a record five-time Olympian and is the Caribbean region's most successful swimmer. Bovell is also respected for his voluntary philanthropic initiatives such as "The World Swim Against Malaria and Drowning" in Uganda, 2013, with his friend, Ugandan swimmer, Max Kanyarezi. He is known for organizing and conducting the annual "George Bovell Dive In Free Swim Clinics", that are free for the youth of Trinidad and Tobago who enjoy the privilege of being coached and mentored by renowned Olympic Medalist Swimmers from around the world. Bovell has been the writer of the popular inspirational newspaper column in the Trinidad Guardian entitled "Reflections Off The Water". He is also one of the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers from the Port of Spain hub. In addition to being a swimmer, Bovell is also a renowned freediving specialist, and enjoys under water wildlife videography and spearfishing.
Olympic career
George Bovell represented Trinidad and Tobago at the 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympics. At the 2004 Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the men's 200 IM: the 9th medalist in the country's history and 12th medal overall. It was also the first-ever Olympic swimming medal for the country, and T&T's only medal from the 2004 Olympics. Bovell also made it to the Finals of the 50m Freestyle in London where he placed 7th in the fastest field ever assembled after returning from a forced hiatus due to a brain injury earlier in the season. Bovell carried the T&T flag at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the 20th Central American and Caribbean Games in Cartagena, Colombia and in the closing ceremonies of the 2000, 2004 and 2012 Olympic Games.
World Championships
In 2013 Bovell won the Bronze Medal in the 50m freestyle at the FINA World Long Course Championships in Barcelona against the fastest field ever assembled in the sport, one in which every competitor in the final was an Olympic Medalist. His Bronze Medal time of 21.51 seconds would have won the silver in the London Olympic Final a year earlier. In 2012 Bovell won the Bronze Medal in the 100m Individual Medley at the Fina World Short Course Championships in Istanbul, a testament to his versatility. Bovell has been in 10 World Championship finals since his first in 2001.
