Davies returns home to Cardiff to fine tune Olympic preparations

By David Jordan, Sportsbeat

OLYMPIC silver medallist David Davies is returning home to fine tune his preparations for an open water swimming medal upgrade at London 2012.

BACK HOME: David Davies will return to Cardiff to train for the London 2012 Olympics, following three years under Kevin Renshaw at Loughborough (Getty Images)

Davies, who also won 1500m freestyle bronze at the Athens Olympics, moved to Loughborough three years ago but has now decided to rejoin childhood coach Dave Haller at City of Cardiff, who guided his career from seven to 22.

"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 will compete at next week's European Swimming Championships in Budapest.

"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."