Title hat-trick: Victoria Parfit won three island crowns as she tries to stay ahead of her talented sister, Lotte. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 0675471)
THE future of Guernsey swimming looks very rosy as a succession of juniors were named island champions at the Rothschild Island Championships in the Beau Sejour pool at the weekend.
The titles are given to the fastest swimmer in each discipline regardless of age. Without doubt, the star of the show was the Guernsey Swimming Club’s Kristina Neves.
The 12-year-old, who is making a name for herself on the national scene, had picked up seven island titles by Saturday evening.
She claimed the 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle, the 50m and the 200m backstroke, the 50m butterfly and the 400m individual medley. She also set six 11/12-year-old group records.
‘She is just phenomenal,’ said the GSC head coach, Jocelyn Guille.
The other girls to stand out on Friday and Saturday were the Parfit sisters, Victoria and Lotte, of the Beau Sejour Barracudas.
Victoria won the 100 individual medley, the 200m breaststroke and the 100m breaststroke.
The 15-year-old Ladies’ College student represented Guernsey at the Island Games in Rhodes and, like so many of its top swimmers, already has an eye on next year’s event in Aland.
‘It was really good,’ she said of her weekend’s work.
‘I was expecting more but it was a busy schedule. I’m happy with what I’ve done.’
While Parfit is a breaststroke specialist, her younger sister, 13-year-old Lotte, is more of a backstroker and was crowned the island champion over 50m in the discipline.
Her time of 32.71sec. also ensured that she beat Gail Strobridge’s record of 32.87 from 1999.
‘That was good – I was pleased with that,’ said Parfit junior, who wants to follow in her sister’s footsteps.
‘I’m trying to get to the Island Games,’ said Lotte.
Another junior to pick up overall honours was Joshua Lewis.
The 15-year-old Elizabeth College student did the business in the 200m breaststroke, setting a new island record in the 15/16 age group, and in the 400m individual medley.
He also achieved national qualifying times.
But the Friday and Saturday sessions were not all about the younger swimmers as some of the ‘old guard’ also shone.
Back from university, Casey Lee, 23, took the 50m breaststroke honours, while 24-year-old Jonathon Le Noury won three trophies.
Sprint specialist Jeremy Osborne, 18, won the meeting’s blue riband event, the 100m freestyle, for the island title.
The GSC’s new elite coach, 26-year-old Greg Zimmerman, took to the water and grabbed the 50m breaststroke title, while Island Games veteran Ben Lowndes added three more island titles to his vast collection. The 22-year-old GSC member took the 100m individual medley honours and the 50m and 100m butterfly titles.
He was pleased to see so many island championships go to the youngsters.
‘It’s good to see the younger swimmers come through and catch up with the older ones,’ he said.
‘But I’m still enjoying it and I want to do a couple more Games if possible.’
Rothschild Island Championships: Remarkable seven island titles for GSC’s Kristina Neves
Article posted on 24th November, 2008 - 2.29pm
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