PM Kamla proud of Bovell's bronze medal at FINA World championships

Champion swimmer George Bovell III

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has expressed pride in Goerge Bovell III for his outstanding performance at the FINA World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey on Sunday.

Bovell won a bronze medal. His coach was Sports Minister Anil Roberts, who has coached Bovell and others. Bovell's win adds a World Championship Bronze medal the long list of international accolades for coach Roberts.

They include: Olympic Bronze 2004, Double Pan American Gold, Double Pan American Silver, a World Record, 5 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Gold, 4 Olympic finalists, 15 World Championship finalists and 8 different athletes ranked in the Top 100 in the world.

In a media release Monday Persad-Bissessar said, "Sport and our national athletes are a constant source of pride to our citizens”.

She added, “George Bovell’s historic achievement...is significant not just for the athlete and his family, but also for his coach, the Honourable Anil Roberts, Minister of Sport.

"Bovell is an athletic exemplar and this latest addition to his cache of medals is just reward not only of his own prowess and discipline but also of the stellar technical expertise of Trinidad and Tobago’s coaching talent as exuded by Minister Roberts, who offers his services free of charge and takes whatever free time that is available outside of his busy Ministerial schedule to coach George for these major international competitions.

"I am certain Minister Roberts makes this sacrifice, not for himself but for the love of sport and of his country.”

Roberts attended a FINA Sports Medicine Congress while attending to George and two younger swimmers, Abraham and Joshua McLeod, in Istanbul.

McLeod did not make it to the finals of the event. However, he achieved the milestone of a national record (59.35) in the 100m Breaststroke.

Persad-Bissessar congratulated Bovell, coach Roberts and the rest of the Trinidad and Tobago contingent on their efforts "to bring glory to our twin-island Republic." She added, "Team Trinidad and Tobago is a force to be reckoned with on the global stage.”