SWIM Bournemouth’s Tess Carter and Naomi Vides both struck gold at Millfield as they improved their qualifications for the National Youth Championships.

Carter, 15, qualified fastest from the heats of the 14-15yrs 200m butterfly in 2:26.64, which gives her a long course NQT (national qualifying time) as well as the short course one she already had.

She swam slightly slower in the final (2:27.32) but managed to snatch the regional title from Swindon Dolphin’s Samantha Berry, who had led for the first 150 metres.

Carter also took bronze in the 800m freestyle (9:38.07) and reached the 200m freestyle and 100m butterfly finals.

Vides’s gold came in the 16/o 50m breaststroke (34.19).

She also knocked over two seconds off her 200m individual medley PB with a bronze-winning 2:24.85 to add that event to her breaststroke programme for the nationals.

Jamie Gray marked his regional championship debut with a bronze medal in the 15-16yrs 1500m freestyle (17:26.28).

He was also seventh in the 400m freestyle (4:26.60) and eighth in the 200m backstroke (2:24.30).

Phoebe Notley added a sixth medal and a fourth bronze to the Bournemouth tally as she came third in the 16/o 800m freestyle in 9:56.27.

Sasha Stalker narrowly missed a medal as she improved from eighth seed to fourth place in the 14-15yrs 100m backstroke (1:09.11).

But fourth in the 14-15yrs 50m freestyle in 28.14 gave Lucy Kirkham her first NQT of the season and she was also sixth in the 800m freestyle in 9:51.12.

Other Bournemouth finalists included Craig Freeman with fifth in the 17/o 400m freestyle (4:28.56) and Harry Thorpe with eighth in the 15-16yrs 200m freestyle (2:06.50).

Jack Burton, swimming in the 14/u time trials, achieved his 200m breaststroke NQT with 2:34.17.

Swim Bournemouth’s Joe Poynter, swimming for Millfield, broke Seth Chappels’ Dorset senior record in the 15-16yrs 200m breaststroke with a heat time of 2:31.44.

He went on to win bronze in that event in a slower time, gold in the 200m and 400m individual medley (2:16.59 and 4:43.28) and silver in the 400m freestyle (4:10.15).