Duo lead Dorset haul (From Bournemouth Echo)

Duo lead Dorset haul

4:20pm Wednesday 23rd September 2009 in

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TRAINING mates Martin Littlefair and Joe Poynter produced the race of the day to lead an avalanche of medals for Dorset swimmers in the Division 12 regional schools championships at Southampton.

The Bournemouth Dolphins duo patiently played a waiting game as Sussex’s Cameron Bax set the pace in the boys’ open 400m freestyle.

Bax led for the first five or six lengths with Poynter second and Littlefair third.

At 150m, 14-year-old Poynter took the lead but Littlefair, 16, covered the move before hitting the front himself with 75m to go.

He went on to win by three seconds in 4:01.21 – knocking 1.3sec off former international Jamie Wearn’s Dorset senior record, set in 1994.

Poynter came second in 4:04.13 and also took silver in the 100m freestyle in 55.57.

But the national age group multi-medallist saved his best for the intermediate boys’ 200m individual medley, finishing 11 seconds ahead of his nearest challenger in 2:11.45.

Littlefair, meanwhile, led another Dorset one-two in the final event of the programme.

He recorded a winning time of 52.03 in the senior 100m freestyle, one second ahead of Ferndown Otters-coached Craig Freeman, who was second in 53.13.

Freeman’s own turn on the top step of the podium came in the senior 100m backstroke, which he won in 1:00.85, and the 50m freestyle time trials (24.61).

Littlefair’s haul also included a bronze in the 100m breaststroke in 1:09.10, while Bournemouth’s national bronze medallist Courtney Rowan was another double winner.

The 13-year-old finished three seconds clear in the junior 100m freestyle in 1:01.42 and also headed the 12 competitors in the 50m time trial with 28.13.

Ferndown’s breaststroking duo of Fran Hughes and Naomi Vides both found some form.

Former national youth champion Hughes won the senior 100m breaststroke in 1:14.09 and took second in the 200m medley (2:28.36).

Vides, a former national age group champion, was first in the intermediate 100m breaststroke (1:14.52) and 50m time trial (28.55) and second in the 200m medley (2:25.62), just ahead of Dorset team-mate Lottie McRae, who was third in 2:25.87, but also won silver in the 100m butterfly (1:07.36).

Weymouth 13-year-old Tom Mules completed the gold medal tally for Dorset schools with a winning time of 1:00.99 in the junior 100m butterfly.

He was also second in the 100m freestyle (57.72) and the 50m time trial (26.46).

Queen Elizabeth’s School sixth-former Zoe Watson, who recently won silver medals in the UK School Games, again twice struck silver, touching second in the open 400m freestyle in 4:29.28 and the senior 100m freestyle (1:00.11).

Harry Thorpe had a hat-trick of top three finishes, taking silver in the junior 100m backstroke (1:08.08) and bronze in the 100m freestyle (58.24) and 50m time trial (26.70).

Fiona Hardie was second in the intermediate 50m time trial (28.56).

Bronze medals went to Dan Speers in the junior 100m breaststroke in 1:20.39 and Peter Thornton in the junior 100m backstroke (1:09.03).

Chris Campbell, a Ferndown Otters swimmer but on this occasion representing Hampshire schools, took top honours in the senior 100m butterfly in 59.35 and was third in the 50m freestyle (24.70).

Winners and some other swimmers can expect to be selected for the Division 12 team for next month’s England schools championships at Crystal Palace.

Overall result: Sussex 246, Hampshire 210, Dorset 156.