Level best medal return for Jack (From Bournemouth Echo)

Level best medal return for Jack

2:00pm Wednesday 14th January 2009 in

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BOURNEMOUTH Dolphins freestyler Jack Thorpe struck gold three times to lead his club’s medal bonanza in the Exeter City Level 2 Open Meet.

The 14-year-old won the 14yrs 50m, 100m and 400m freestyle in 27.26, 59.72 and 4:39.73.

But any thoughts he had of a clean sweep of the freestyle golds in Millfield’s 50m pool was thwarted when he had to settle for silver in the 200m in 2:10.19.

Tess Carter contributed two golds and a silver to Dolphins’ total tally of 45 medals.

She won the 13yrs 100m and 200m butterfly in 1:13.56 and 2:42.80 and came second in the 400m individual medley in 5:48.95.

Jack Burton’s four medals comprised gold in the 12yrs 50m and 200m breaststroke (40.47 and 3:02.03) and bronze the 50m butterfly and backstroke (35.56 and 38.82).

Oscar Esposti won at least one medal of each colour – gold in the 11yrs 50m freestyle (31.81), silver in the 400m freestyle (5:18.34) and bronze in the 50m butterfly and backstroke (38.57 and 39.51).

Bethany Folland took gold in the 10/u 50m backstroke (38.37) and bronze in the 200m freestyle (2:41.35).

The meet had an intensely silver lining for 13-year-old Harry Thorpe, who came second in the 13yrs 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle (28.47, 1:01.98 and 2:17.28) and in the 50m backstroke (32.46).

Dolphins’ 10 and under boys underlined their collective promise for the future with five of them winning eight medals between them.

Bradley Currie was the most successful with silver in the 400m freestyle (5:41.44) and bronze in the 200m backstroke (3:05.53).

Bronze also went to Matthew Allen in the 10/u 50m butterfly (40.25) and 200m freestyle (2:50.12), Ross Webb in the 50m breaststroke (46.91) and freestyle (34.26), Andrew Botros in the 400m freestyle (5:45.11) and Tom Powell in the 200m butterfly (3:50.79).

Other medallists: 11yrs Ryan McCormack 2nd 200m free 2:29.47, 3rd 400m free 5:24.15, 3rd 200m medley 2:53.92; Bethany Hebditch 2nd 50m breast 43.27, 3rd 100m breast 1:32.43, 3rd 200m back 2:59.68; Daniel Speers 2nd 200m breast 3:13.26. Jake Meaden 3rd 400m medley 7:14.02. 12yrs Daniel Thwaites 2nd 200m fly 2:48.71; Curtis Allen 2nd 400m medley 6:12.55. 13yrs Deb Cure 2nd 200m breast 3:02.57. 16/o Lauren Holman 2nd 200m free 2:20.74, 3rd 50m free 29.78, 200m medley 2:43.69.

WIMBORNE CLOSURE

Wimborne Swimming Club has folded after 40 years during which many hundreds of youngsters have been taught to swim.

Chairman Ray Burke said both he and Chas Wallace – the club’s two swimming teachers – have been incapacitated by injury or illness in recent months and could find no-one else to take it on.

“We are very sad to see it go – it has been my hobby for 40 years,” said Mr Burke, whose wife, Sylvia, was the club secretary.

“Our financial situation was quite healthy but all our teaching was done voluntarily and there are no young people to take over.”

Wimborne SC has been mainly a teaching club for most of its existence but it did have a competitive element in the early years.

Its base since the 1970s has been the Queen Elizabeth Leisure Centre but it used several pools before that, including school pools at Plantation Road, Canford Heath, and St Michael’s, Colehill, and at Stokewood Road, Bournemouth.

WATER POLO APPEAL

Dorset’s growing band of water polo players and supporters have been urged back a campaign to support the national men’s and women’s squads following Government funding cuts.

Britain’s entries in the men’s and women’s World Leagues have already been cancelled and there are fears that the High Performance Centre in Manchester may be closed.

A petition and a fund-raising campaign have been launched through the website www.friendsofwaterpolo.co.uk.