Magnificent seven

JEREMY OSBORNE has stormed the annual Hampshire county swimming championships. And the 14-year-old could hardly be in better form with a British Swimming talent-identification screening day fast approaching.

The Beau Sejour Barracuda produced a string of record-breaking displays at Waterlooville, much to the delight of his coach Alison Frankland.

'Jeremy, as predicted, took the championships by storm, demonstrating his strength by producing the fastest county swims ever in no less than seven events,' she said.

In his favoured stroke, freestyle, Osborne broke the former standards in the 50m, 100m and 200m events.

His performance in the second of those distances earned him the Royal Aircraft Establishment Swimming Club Challenge Trophy for the highest scoring swim in the Bagcats system with his time of 54.05sec. worth 743 points.

He also set new marks in the 200m individual medley, the 100m butterfly and the 50m and 100m backstroke.

Unsurprisingly, Osborne's efforts won him the overall age-group trophy as well.

'He will be competing next weekend in the under-16 age group, following which he attends a talent-identification screening day in the hope of gaining selection onto the Great Britain world-class performance programme,' said Frankland.

Another Sarnian who excelled during the second weekend of the Hampshire Championships was Luke Winberg.

The nine-year-old Guernsey Swimming Club member set three county age-group records in his seven first-place finishes.

The new marks came in the 100m individual medley, the 50m butterfly and the 50m freestyle.