Jasmine upstages older swimmers (From Bournemouth Echo)

Jasmine upstages older swimmers

3:59pm Wednesday 10th December 2008 in

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JOE Poynter and Martin Littlefair broke five county records between them to lead a 51-medal haul for East Dorset swimmers at Millfield – but the Bournemouth Dolphins swim of the day came from one of their youngest team-mates.

Nine-year-old Jasmine Holmes recorded a long-course time of 5:27.51 in the Plymouth Leander level one open meet to win the 9-10yrs 400m freestyle by 12 seconds.

The time was the second-fastest on the British all-time list for nine-year-old girls.

Only Kathryn Stacey has swum quicker, clocking 5:15.01 in 2004 for Lincoln Vulcans when they were coached by Graham Bassi, now head coach at Bournemouth.

Thirteen-year-old Poynter was Dorset’s leading medallist with four gold and four silver medals plus four Dorset records and three meet records.

Six of these records came in two events.

In the 400m individual medley, Poynter’s winning time of 4:48.56 shaved a second off the county senior and junior records, held since 1998 by Ferndown’s Seth Chappels, who swam in the European Junior Championships.

His 1500m freestyle time of 16:35.88 also took more than a minute off the Dorset junior record and half-a-minute off the senior record, set by fellow Dolphin Richard Smiles in 1996 and 1997.

Both these times and Poynter’s winning 4:13.09 in the 13-14yrs 400m freestyle were also meet records.

He also won gold in the 200m butterfly (2:19.61) and silver in the 100 and 200m breaststroke (1:16.14 and 2:41.39), 200m freestyle (2:00.09) and 200m medley (2:18.47).

Poynter’s 400m freestyle time was also inside Craig Freeman’s Dorset junior record but Martin Littlefair, 15, got there first to set new figures of 4:12.13.

That won Littlefair a silver medal in the 15-16 age group and he also took bronze in the 200m freestyle in 1:58.17.

The swims by Poynter and Littlefair were among 11 national and 66 South West qualifying times recorded by Dolphins swimmers at the weekend despite being in heavy training.

National age group champion Amelia Maughan, 12, won three golds and a silver, finishing three and two seconds clear in the 12yrs 100 and 200m freestyle in 1:00.41 and 2:13.66.

She also won the 12yrs 100m backstroke in 1:12.82 and came second out of 55 swimmers in the open 50m freestyle (27.95), beaten only by an 18-year-old.

Dolphins new girl Lottie McRae claimed gold in the 13-14yrs 200 and 400m medley in 2:31.82 and 5:21.77 and bronze in the 100m butterfly (1:09.72).

Danielle Francis, 18, and Jasmine McCormack, 17, between them claimed six freestyle medals in the 17 and over age group.

McCormack took gold in the 200 and 400m (2:11.46 and 4:39.28), silver in the 100 (1:00.39) and bronze in the 200m championship final (2:10.59).

Club captain Francis won gold in the 1500m (17:41.84) and bronze in the 100m (1:00.60).

Tess Carter and Danielle Thwaites both slashed 10 seconds off their PBs for the 200m butterfly, with Carter collecting the 13-14yrs bronze medal in 2:37.55.

Bronze also went to Sammie Bush in the girls’ 11-12yrs 400m freestyle (5:03.78).

• FERNDOWN Otters’ national youth champion Fran Hughes was the best female breaststroker at the star-studded meet, winning not only the 15-16yrs 100 and 200m events in 1:16.50 and 2:46.35 but both championship finals (1:16.46 and 2:41.31).

She was also third in the open 50m breaststroke in 35.68.

Harriet Higgins took gold in the 9-10yrs 100m breaststroke (1:34.79) and silver in the 100m freestyle (1:13.66), 200m backstroke (2:57.30) and 200m medley (2:56.55).

Alan Wong won medals of every colour – gold in the 9-10yrs 200m backstroke in a meet record time of 2:47.67, silver in the 200m back (1:18.95) and bronze in the 100 and 200m freestyle (1:09.09 and 2:32.03).

Lucy Kirkham struck gold in the 11-12yrs 800m freestyle (10:37.47).

Chris Campbell won silver in both the 17/o 100m butterfly and the championship final (56.45 and 57.92) and bronze in the open 50m fly (26.56).

Craig Freeman took silver in the 15-16yrs 100m freestyle (54.61) and bronze medals went to Ferndown team-mates Ben Fellows in the 17/o 100m backstroke (1:07.89) and Chrisy Cole in the 9-10yrs 200m breaststroke (3:23.80).

• CHRISTCHURCH and New Milton Seagulls entered swimmers in the 1500m freestyle.

Their five medallists were: Gold, Jaz Oliver-House 9-10yrs 25:46.56. Silver, Sophie Duffell 11-12yrs 19:37.54; Peter Griffiths 11-12yrs 19:31.30. Bronze, Izzie Frampton 11-12yrs 25:25.94; Alice Brown 13-14yrs 20:46.10.