TORNADOES of South Dorset swimmer Harry Stewart has cemented his great season so far by securing a place in the top 24 at the British summer nationals at the end of this month.

The 15-year-old will go to Tollcross, Glasgow at the end of July to compete in the 50m breaststroke and is going there ranked as 14th in the country.

In May, Stewart produced a time of 32.00 at Regionals and this was good enough to place him 26th which would have given him a place in the English nationals in Sheffield in August.

With all the qualifying times being so close, he went to the Plymouth Leander Open meet on the last day of qualifying to try and make sure he retained his position and at the meet he produced an outstanding swim to lower his time to 31.65, pushing him up the rankings.

This will be Stewart’s second time at national level, having qualified for English championships last season, again in the 50m breaststroke.

His experience from last season should help him cope with the pressure at the event.

Lead Tornadoes coach Chris Beal was delighted with Stewart’s qualification, but Stewart still has work to do leading up to the event to make sure he now finishes the season in style.

Those wishing to swim with the Tornadoes can contact tornadoessecretary@btinternet.com for details.