David Davies, of Britain, has cancelled plans to follow up he Olympic silver medal he won for Britain just a hand from gold in the inaugural 10km marathon swim in Beijing last year with a challenge for the world title in Rome this summer. He will instead concentrate on pools events at the Foro Italico.

Olympic bronze medal winner in the 1,500m freestyle in the pool in Athens in 2004, the 24-year-old from Cardiff has targetted London 2012 as the home Games at which he will aim to complete his colour collection with gold. Whether that challenge will unfold in the marathon, the 1,500m or both will be made in the wake of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi next year. 

The short-term decision is made: Davies, coached at Loughborough by Kevin Renshaw, will focus solely on pool racing in order to make Rome a true test of whether his emphasis in training on strength and speed, with a view to making his 400m pace much faster and more useful to him in the 1,500m, has paid off. In Beijing, the pool events preceded the marathon, but in Rome the 10km swim unfolds five days before the 400m in the pool and 10 days before the 1,500m. 

Speaking from a training camp in Cyprus, Davies said: "It wasn't an easy or quick decision to make. It was my decision alone after speaking with Kevin and Mark Perry [performance head of Britain's open water programme]. I've changed a lot of things this year, the aim being to get quicker and sronger. I wanted to check my progress on that but if I do a 10km a week before the pool in Rome, it won't be a proper check, a true test." 

Renshaw, who is working to a long-term plan with Davies, added: "Really, open water this year is just to gain experience. We revisited the plan and while Rome was on the list [for the 10km], we feel that he's got enough FINA world cup races after the world champiopnships. We're really excited about the progress he's made on speed and power, and that's been the priority." The prospects of Davies doing "something really good" in the 1,500m in Rome were strong, he said, because the programme would allow Davies much more recovery time between swims than he had had at British trials in March, when he set records in the 200m and 400m on his way to a 1,500m race that fell on the last day of a busy week in Sheffield.

Davies aim is to break the British records - his best times - over 400m and 1,500m at the Foro Italico in Rome this July. The marathon is not forgotten, however: after Rome, he will go in search of experience in what has become known as the aquatic scrum because of the kicking and punching that has come to characterise open water swimming. Davies will race at several rounds of the FINA World Cup series, though a planned 2012 test of the London Olympic marathon course in the Serpentine has been put on hold. The Royal Parks are already hosting a triathlon event on the same day and the work involved in that has put paid to FINA's plans to stage a test event in Hype Park this summer. 

"I's a shame. We hoped to generate interest in the event and give everyone the experience of holding a swim event like this in the [Serpentine]," said a FINA spokesman. "But it had to be cancelled because of works. We will try again next year."

By then, Davies, who won his silver in Beijing in what was only his third 10km race ever, will be on the cusp of a bigger decision: "I'm still ticking the boxes on learning the ropes in open water, and ticking boxes on improving my speed and strength. The big decision will be taken after the Commonwealth Games when it comes down to what to go for in London 2012."

A version of this article appears in The Times, London, today.