Davies announces retirement plan

Welsh swimming star David Davies has revealed he plans to retire after the 2012 Olympics.
Davies will only be 27 when the Olympics come to London in five years’ time, but he believes that would be the ideal moment to end his career.

“I always wanted to bow out of swimming at the highest possible level I could,” Davies told the BBC’s Sport Wales programme.

“I don’t want to finish in some rubbish little event.”

He added: “To bow out in a home Olympics, something we might not see again for years to come, would be an ideal opportunity.”

The Olympic bronze and Commonwealth gold medallist is one of Britain’s biggest hopes for success at the 2008 Games in Beijing.

Davies is among the favourites to take 1500m freestyle gold next summer, but he hopes London 2012 will represent the pinnacle of his career.

He said: “I wanted to bow out either at the very top - when I’ve produced my ultimate performance and I know I’m not going to do better - or at a home Olympics like London 2012, where the setting is going to be fantastic and the environment amazing.”

“I’ve had four years now of doing world competition swimming, and the fact I’ve been to the Olympics before will make Beijing very different. The experience I have will be different to Athens.

“My heart will be racing faster come the Olympics - because that’s the one. But the beat I have when I’m swimming for Wales is a different kind of beat, it’s very special and very patriotic.

“I think Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau is the only song that will make me start crying. It’s very emotional.”

Davies, who hails from Barry, has left Wales to live in Loughborough to help improve his chances of Olympic glory, and the 22-year-old will spend Christmas warm-weather training at British Swimming’s Offshore Centre on the Gold Coast in Australia.

Davies’ main rival in Beijing will be Australian 1500m legend Grant Hackett, and the Welsh swimmer will take confidence from the strong challenge he presented to win bronze at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

“I used to watch Grant when I was a kid and I would think to myself that I’m never going to beat the guy,” said Davies, who added Commonwealth gold to his medal collection in Melbourne last year.

“He’s one of my role models, one of the all-time greatest swimmers.

“To be in the lane next to him and push him all the way was a very surreal experience.”

Source: BBC Sport

Swimmer Spotlight David Davies

As role models go, you could do much worse than Joe Calzaghe.

The undisputed super middleweight champion of the world is boxing’s hottest property after his fine display over Mikkel Kessler.

And for one Welsh swimmer, the experience of watching his compatriot defeat Kessler has proved inspirational.

The Olympic bronze and Commonwealth gold medallist was among the 50,000 people who packed into the Millennium Stadium to see Calzaghe confirm his place as one of the greatest boxers of all time.

“It is something I was very, very proud to have been at,” Davies told BBC Sport.

“The atmosphere inside the stadium was amazing and the whole night was really all about Wales and Welsh sport, and it was a great moment.

“Getting to the top is hard enough, but the hardest thing to do is stay there… and he’s done it for a decade.

“He’s an absolutely amazing ambassador for Welsh sport and I have the utmost respect for him.”

While Calzaghe is the talk of the town at the moment, Davies is hoping that come next August he will be the man flying the flag for Welsh and British sport.

Davies is among the favourites to take 1500m freestyle gold at next year’s Beijing Olympics, and he will stop at nothing to achieve it.

He has already left Wales to live in Loughborough to help improve his chances of Olympic glory, and the 22-year-old will spend Christmas warm-weather training at British Swimming’s Offshore Centre on the Gold Coast in Australia.

While leaving his home in Barry was a tough decision, Davies is confident the move to Loughborough was the right choice.

“It is a massive sporting centre, not just for swimming but also for athletics and rugby,” he said.

“The pool is amazing, as is the gym, and there is a superb coaching set-up.

“It is a very professional environment to be in and you share experiences with other athletes, which helps that learning experience.”

After a good summer of training, Davies is looking forward to continuing his preparations in Australia as part of British Swimming’s ‘Endless Summer’ scheme.

The scheme gives swimmers the chance to train in warmer climes, cutting the risk of common colds and other health problems that could damage their chances in Beijing.

Davies will join 30 of Britain’s elite swimmers in Australia, and training will include swimming 50 miles a week, split into 10 sessions.

“I had a hard winter and have been putting in the miles so that next year I’ll be at my peak,” said Davies.

“As the Olympics grow closer I’ll work on my race speed, but at the moment it is all about hard work.”

Australia is home to Grant Hackett, the 1500m legend who will be out to win a third straight Olympic title in Beijing.

Hackett could only finish seventh on his return from a shoulder injury at the world championships in April, while Davies won bronze as Poland’s Mateusz Sawrymowicz took gold.

The rivals will get the chance to measure their progress at the worlds in Manchester next April, before their big showdown in Beijing in August.

Davies will train in Australia until New Year’s Day, and he will be joined by his parents for Christmas.

“We’ll spend Christmas on the beach, which will be nice,” he said.

“Australia is like a second home for me and you do get recognised out there due to the profile of the sport.”

Source: BBC Sport