Mavellous Martin's fantastic festive feat (From Bournemouth Echo)

Mavellous Martin's fantastic festive feat

3:19pm Wednesday 23rd December 2009 in

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MARTIN Littlefair must have thought it was Christmas as he left his home pool at Littledown with enough honours to fill Santa’s sack.

The 16-year-old’s winnings at the first Bournemouth Dolphins Christmas Open Meet included six gold medals, several national qualifying times, two Dorset records and the awards for the best male swim on each of the two days.

He even won the senior skins knockout competition, beating Dolphins team-mate Scott Denham in the last round.

The top swim awards were given for his winning 100 and 200m freestyle times of 50.83 and 1:51.42.

The 200m time also knocked more than two seconds off the Dorset senior record, held by Seth Chappels, a former European Junior Championships swimmer, since 2000.

Another Chappels record, set in 1998, fell in the 200m individual medley as Littlefair clocked a winning time of 2:09.13, a one-second improvement.

Littlefair’s other three wins came in the 16yrs 50m freestyle (24.33) and the 100m backstroke (59.60) and breaststroke (1:07.41).

His Dolphins team-mate Lottie McRae won the award for the top female swim on day two thanks to her 200m medley time of 2:23.47.

She also won the 14yrs 100 and 200m butterfly (1:05.27 and 2:22.98) and 200m backstroke (2:22.55).

Ferndown Otters’ former national youth champion Fran Hughes pipped McRae to the day one award with her 100m breaststroke time of 1:14.77, which was worth 705 GB points compared to Lottie’s 704 for 2:22.98 in the 200m butterfly.

The same two came face to face in the final round of the senior skins with McRae taking the victory.

Hughes also won the 16yrs 50m freestyle (28.30), 200m breaststroke (2:40.85) and 200m medley (2:27.09).

Ferndown won the award for the top visiting club.

Top age group boy was Dolphins’ Dan Speers, whose results included wins in the 12yrs 50 and 100m breaststroke (36.74 and 1:19.05), 100m freestyle (1:00.87), 200m butterfly (2:35.82) and 200m medley (2:29.62).

Lucy Campbell of Windsor SC was named top age group girl and also won the junior |skins, with Dolphins’ Sam |Bush and Danielle Thwaites second and third.

Bournemouth’s Jack Burton was third in the junior boys’ skins behind Jake Jezzard of Newbury and Ted Elson of Harrow and Wealdstone.

Jay Olenicz broke Chris Campbell’s Dorset junior record in the 50m backstroke (27.93), which provided one of his five wins in the 14yrs age group.

He also won the 100 and 200m backstroke (1:00.21 and 2:14.70) and the 50 and 100m freestyle.

Dolphins’ Rachel Hawkins won no less than seven golds in the 12yrs age group – in the 50, 100 and 200m butterfly and backstroke and the 400m medley.

Two other Bournemouth swimmers also won five golds – Tom Kingham in the 11yrs 100 and 200m freestyle, 200m backstroke and 200 and 400m medley and Jack Thorpe in the 15yrs 50, 100, 200 and 400m freestyle and 100m breaststroke.

Harrison Kemp led Poole’s medal tally with five golds – in the 10yrs 200 and 400m freestyle and medley and the 200m backstroke.

Team-mate Emily Clarke struck gold in the 11yrs 200m butterfly and 400m freestyle and medley.

Four golds apiece went to Bournemouth’s Beth Folland in the 11yrs 50m freestyle, butterfly and backstroke and 100m freestyle and Jack Burton in the 13yrs 50, 100 and 200m breaststroke and 50m freestyle.

• At the Plymouth Leander open meet at Millfield, Naomi Vides achieved national qualifying times for the 100 and 200m breaststroke while Fiona Hardie added the 50m freestyle to her list of events for the nationals.