JACOB Peters will lead the medal charge as 15 Poole swimmers take on the best in the land at three different national championships over the next two-and-a-half weeks.

The 15-year-old is hoping to match or improve on the one gold and two silver medals he won after making the podium in all three butterfly events at the inaugural British Summer Championships last year.

He has since gone on to win a UK School Games title and break British junior and age group records as well as 40 Dorset county records.

Peters will again swim the 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly as well as the 50m and 100m freestyle and 50m and 100m backstroke.

Peters will be joined by Oliver Weston, Lloyd Arnold and Matt Collins for the 4x100m medley relay.

The quartet are among 11 Poole swimmers heading for the British showdown at Sheffield’s Ponds Forge pool, which are only open to the top 24 in the country in each event.

Jasmine Holmes, Leonie Wiehle, Madison Kemp and Emily Clarke will swim all three girls’ relays.

In the individual events, 18-year-old Clarke – winner of the 800m freestyle at the English Summer Championships last year – steps up a grade to swim that event as well as the 400 freestyle, 200m backstroke and 50m butterfly.

Holmes goes in the 100 and 200m freestyle, Jazz McCrea in the 50m butterfly, Thea O’Keefe in the 400m freestyle and Fiona Hardie in the 100m butterfly.

O’Keefe and Poole ladies’ captain Clarke face a hectic couple of weeks as they have also qualified for this weekend’s ASA National Open Water Championships at Rother Valley Country Park near Sheffield and the English championships, which start at Ponds Forge on August 1 following the British competition.

In the open water event, Clarke will swim the 19 and over 5km race and O’Keefe the 16yrs 3km.

Poole men’s captain Ben Porter makes his nationals debut in the 19/o 5km while Jess Kelleway and Liam Openshaw – both top-10 finishers last year – go in the 13yrs 1.5km.

Nationals debutant Luke Roxburgh will be the busiest Poole swimmer at the English nationals after qualifying for all three breaststroke distances.

Seven Poole swimmers from the British contest are also set to do battle in different events at the English competition – Peters in the 200m freestyle, Collins in the 50m butterfly, Clarke in the 50m freestyle, Kemp in the 50 and 100m fly, Holmes in the 400m freestyle, O’Keefe in the 100 and 200m freestyle and McCrea in the 200m fly and 200m individual medley.

Christchurch-based Seagulls have three swimmers heading for four different national championships.

Max Weeks swims in the 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle at the British event and the 100m on the same two strokes at English level.

Miles Ward takes on the 13yrs 1.5km open water event on July 24 before heading for the Welsh Summer Nationals in early August to swim the 100 and 200m backstroke and 200m fly.

Ward will be joined in Swansea by Seagulls’ Ellen Broadfield, who swims the 50 and 100m breaststroke.

As previously reported, Bournemouth Collegiate School have 13 swimmers going to the nationals and Swim Bournemouth nine.