DOHA – George Bovell, the top ranked 100 IMer in the world, has elected to pull out of the World Short Course Championships this week in Doha, Qatar.
Bovell, who would have looked to improve upon his bronze medal at the 2012 World Short Course Championships in Istanbul in the 100 IM, decided to focus on the future by pulling out of Doha and the Salnikov Cup later this year.
“I have decided to pull out of the World Championships and the Salnikov Cup and instead start a break early, even though I am ranked number one in the world,” Bovell told The Guardian in an article this weekend. “I had to ask myself what is the bigger medal and in life, there are some things you can’t plan.”
In Istanbul, Bovell took bronze behind USA’s Ryan Lochte (51.21) and Australia’s Kenneth To (51.38) with a 51.66. He currently leads the world with a 51.79 from the Dubai stop of the Arena Grand Prix.
Bovell not only was a favorite in the sprint medley, he also was looking at potential medals in the 50 free and 50 breast after a strong year on the FINA World Cup tour.
Bovell also won a third consecutive gold medal in the 50 free at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Mexico a week ago.
“It can even be described perhaps as stellar [performance] considering the conditions of the freezing pool and poor starting blocks,” Bovell said of the CAC Games. “My experience definitely helped with the challenges that the conditions presented and I hope that gold medal served to fire up the rest of the T&T contingent and our track and field team will take centre stage this week.”
Look for Bovell to focus on the FINA World Championships in Kazan next summer as he looks to compete there for Trinidad and Tobago.