Enduro going long in Beijing
Dave Davies won an impressive silver medal this week at the World Open Water Championshis in Seville, Spain. It was only his second open water swim, yet he'll now contest the distance at the Beijing Olympic Games as well as swimming the 1500m in the pool.
Davies completed 10k is 1hour 53minutes, and led virtually the whole way rather than draft off the pack. He was overtaken and lost out on the gold medal by a few centimetres! Aussie legend Grant Hackett had been expected to win, but finished in 15th place before being disqualified for interfering with other swimmers in the pack.
So is this a new thing for you?
My first open water swim was in February this year in South Africa.
Why did you decide to try open water swimming?
Since the last Olympics British Swimming has been trying to get as many people involved as possible. I wanted to give it a try as I didn't want to end my career wondering if I could have done well.
Why do you think you done so well in open water?
I'm light and float on the top of the water so open water swimming suits me. My stroke works well.
What changes do you make to your training to accommodate the open water 10k event?
I don't make any changes to my training at all. I just turn up and do the event. It sounds simple but that's what I do. The training is the same sort of intensity. I've not broken my training for this event, but if I was to taper it would be a similar taper to my 1500m.
What are the main differences with swimming in open water?
There are more tactics involved. I lost the gold because I didn't have the tactics. The Russian guy pushed me into the turn and got away. I swam at the front to have clear water, but I need to learn to draft. I have scope to improve and that's exciting.
What was going through your mind coming into the tight finish?
I can't really remember what was going through my mind in the finish straight. I was tired and I had used every ounce of energy I had. I knew I'd had a brilliant race what ever happened. In the end I was just relieved to finish.
What would you say to people who think open water is cold and dark?
People should try it. - if they tried it they would enjoy it. It's not dirty water, it's locations like Seville where the water is lovely. You turn up and it's sunny with music playing and a relaxed atmosphere, everyone gets on with each other.
Everyone respects each other as it's such a tough sport. It's a close nit circuit and we all know each other. We swim close to each other, sometimes on top of each other, so we all know each other.'
Will doing the 10k affect your chances in the 1500m?
The 10k is a week after the 1500m so it's perfect. Swimming in open water doesn't affect my aspirations in the pool, it's another chance to swim in the Olympics and that's what everyone wants to do. I have double the opportunity now.
Were you expecting Grant Hackett to do better than he did?
I led the whole way and didn't know where Grant Hackett was. I kept expecting him to come up from behind me. Grant Hackett is 6ft7, he's a big guy designed for 400 and 1500 and has very powerful strokes. So much power is going into every pull. He's the best in the world so people shouldn't criticise him. But he came out exhausted, he had nothing left.
It shows how good the sport is if Grant Hackett only finished 15th. I know he was disqualified, but that's where he finished in the race. It's a tough sport and deserves to be in the Olympics.
