A hat-trick of island records for Guernsey star in 'Oz'

TOM HOLLINGSWORTH appears well on the way to winning a second Commonwealth Games appearance.

The Beau Sejour Barracudas member has been in superb form 'down under' where he is studying.

At the Metropolitan East 2009 Winter Championships held in Sydney he set new island records in three events and established Commonwealth Games qualifying times in two of them.

He placed first overall in four events - the 100 and 400 individual medley, the 50 breaststroke and the 100 butterfly and in so doing broke his own short course island records in both the 100 individual medley and the 100 butterfly which he set in 2005 at the Shetland Island Games, recording new lifetime best times of 57.62 and 55.10 respectively.

He also broke the 50 breaststroke record previously held by Matthew Robert with a time of 30.49.

His Commonwealth Games qualifying times came in the 100 backstroke (57.92) and the 100 butterfly (55.10).

Hollingsworth, who is studying oceanography at Norwich University, will be returning to the island next month after completing a year of his studies in Sydney.

He currently trains with Epping Bullets in a six-lane outdoor 50m pool set in bushland which, as he says, is great in the summer months but at this time of the year, can be freezing in the early mornings.

Before returning to the island he had planned to compete in the Telstra Grand Prix to be staged this weekend in Melbourne, but because of the high numbers of swine flu outbreaks in the area, the meet has been cancelled in the best interests of the swimmers.

Instead he will now compete at the Sydney Metropolitan Short Course Championships on the same weekend the Island Games start in Aland.

This will be his last meet before returning home and one in which he hopes to be fully tapered for.