Olympic bronze (1,500m) and silver (marathon) medallist David Davies is heading back to the green,green grass of home: the distance ace will return to coach Dave Haller at Cardiff after a change of scenery these past two season with coach Kevin Renshaw at Loughborough that saved his career.
Davies was with Haller and Australian sports scientist Bob Treffene when he won his first Olympic medal, at Athens in 2004 behind Grant Hackett (AUS) and a stroke back from Larson Jensen (USA). The Commonwealth 1,500m champion has decided to sing the Tom Jones theme tune on his way to London 2012.
What form that campaign will take remains to be seen: 1,500m, marathon or both. Davies moved to Loughborough in 2007 because he needed a change of environment from City of Cardiff, where he had trained from 7 to 22 years of age, much of that time with Haller.
"I have found this year tough in terms of my performance both in competitions and in training and I knew that I needed to make a change," said Davies, who withdrew from the British nationals and trials in spring suffering from fatigue after failing to make the 400m free final. As such, he is with Britain for the European Championships in Budapest next week but not considered a contender. As 1,500m free defending champion, he was preselected for Wales and the Commonwealth Games in Delhi come October.
"There are two years until London and I know that in order to be ready to succeed in 2012 I need to change my surroundings. I have always had a huge amount of respect for Dave [Haller]. He is the coach that took me from an inexperienced swimmer to an Olympic medallist when I was 19.
"The City of Cardiff Swimming Club has always remained close to my heart; it was the club I grew up with. I believe that re-locating to Cardiff will help me with my preparations for the Olympics and I look forward to beginning my training in the new pool in the city.
"I really enjoyed my time in Loughborough. The facilities and the environment have helped me move on to the next level of my career and helped me develop my skills in Open Water swimming. I appreciate everything that Kev [Renshaw] has done for me and I will always respect him for his support."
Effectively, Renshaw and the move to Loughborough kept Davies in the swim. Without a change, he might well have quit the sport and been lost as a serious medal hope for a home Games in 2012.
British Swimming National Performance Director Michael Scott said: "David has my full support with his return to Wales and the World Class Programme will continue to support him with his preparation over the next two years in the lead-up to the London Games.
"David has had a very successful career to date due to his commitment to, and enthusiasm for, the sport and he will continue to receive the support from British Swimming as all of our athletes prepare for the next benchmark meet in our quadrennial plan."
