IT WAS second time lucky for Jacob Peters in his bid to add the 200m freestyle to his collection of national qualifying times (NQTs).

A week after a timing system failure denied him a certain NQT from the first leg of the 4x200m freestyle relay at Millfield, the Poole 13-year-old had a second shot at the target in the individual 200m event at the South West Age Group Championships in Bristol.

And he wasted no time in seizing his chance, dipping three seconds under the national qualifying time and his previous best with 2:07.82 in the heats.

He then knocked 1.3sec off this time to become the regional 13yrs champion in 2:06.56.

The result means Peters has achieved his pre-season target of nine NQTs – a feat matched in Dorset only by Bournemouth Collegiate School’s Finn Trehane.

Peters also won his third gold of the 2014 championships in the 200m backstroke in 2:18.84, passing Oscar Brain in the last five metres after the Plymouth Leander youngster had led for 195m.

It must have been a bitter-sweet moment for former Poole coach Robin Armayan, who is now coaching Brain at Plymouth.

Silver medals in the 100m backstroke (1:03.65), 400m freestyle (4:27.14) and 400m individual medley (5:13.14) took his medal tally across the two weekends of the championships to eight – three gold and five silver.

They also helped him to win the South West BAGCATS title for his age group for the third time in four years.

The 400m freestyle time also lowered a club record held by Dan Speers, now with Millfield.

Poole team-mate Ollie Weston lowered his PB by half-a-second to come for in the 100m breaststroke final in 1:19.28.