Lotte edges out her sister

LOTTE PARFIT took first-place honours in the 400m individual medley championships of the NRG Series staged by the Beau Sejour Barracudas.

Following on from her record-breaking swim in the 200m event, she set a further record in the 400m in a time of 5-19.80.

Swimming head-to-head with her sister, Victoria, for the first 100m butterfly, Lotte pulled ahead in the backstroke leg to take the lead by well over 10m only for Victoria to pull back on her favoured stroke, the breaststroke.

Going into the final 100m freestyle they were again virtually level until the last 25m where Lotte found a last-minute surge to record the fastest time of the day and win the 12-13 years' title. Victoria's time was just outside the championship mark in the 14-15 age group - 5-22.61.

Swimming a lifetime best by over four seconds, 14-year-old Joshua Lewis swam the fastest of the boys in 4-50.17. It was his strength in the breaststroke leg that took him into a comfortable position ahead of James Jurkiewicz who won the title for the 16-plus age group. Rosie Le Friec, in the same group for the girls, recorded a personal best of 5-41.34.