Olympic silver medallist David Davies has announced that he is to switch his Olympic preparation to Wales in his bid for glory in London.
The Barry-born athlete moved to Loughborough in 2007 and has now decided to return to the City of Cardiff, a club that took him from the ages of 7 to 22. Davies will now rejoin his childhood coach Dave Haller.
“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 swimming 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.”
British Swimming National Performance Director Michael Scott commented: “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.”