City of Oxford's 14-year-old Sam van de Schootbrugge (pictured) returned from his first South East Region Winter Championships with eight medals and two qualifying times for the 2008 Olympic trials.

The 14-year-old's top performance was a personal best of 4mins 49.66secs in the 400m individual medley.

Van de Schootbrugge not only took silvers in both the 16 & under 400m IM and 200m backstroke, but did likewise in the men's open races.

These were won in qualifying times for National Youth Championships in August 2008, but more significantly, it means he qualifies for the Olympic trials in Sheffield in April.

The 400m IM time was also an improvement of more than a second on the Dutch national age group record he holds.

He achieved two more national qualifying times in the 200m IM and 400m freestyle (pb) earning him 16 & under silver medals in both and placing him third and fourth fastest male respectively in the region.

Van de Schootbrugge swam a personal best to clinch a bronze in the junior 200m freestyle in another national qualifying time of 2.03.05.

Clubmate Ben Chapman, only just 14 years old, produced personal bests in both his junior 400m freestyle (4.29.21) and 200m freestyle (2.10.43), finishing tenth and 23rd respectively.

Alex Foggett was the star performer as Witney's juniors gave an encouraging display in the Novice Gala at Amersham.

Foggett set personal bests in the ten years boys' butterfly and backstroke to take the club's swimmer-of-the-match award.

The runner-up votes were shared by Nadia Heeney in the ten years girls' freestyle and Callum Moss - winner of the nine year boys' breaststroke and runner-up in the butterfly.

Other Witney winners were Lauren Whitehill (backstroke), Alice Deaney (butterfly) and Marc Colling (breaststroke).

Result: 1 Ruislip-Northwood 171pts, 2 Seabirds 159, 3 Witney 123, 4 Letchworth 115, 5 Amersham 106, 6 Putteridge 92.

Other Witney personal bests: A Beaney (freestyle), G French (butterfly), S Tanner (breaststroke), J Holland (butterfly), M Sulley (breaststroke), K Hoare (freestyle), D Merriman (breaststroke), D Frost (backstroke), A Tivey (freestyle), J Possee (butterfly), O Beland (backstroke), N Piper (breaststroke).