OLYMPICS LONDON 2012: Experience vital to medal challenge, claims Davenport

By Ric Sumner, Sportsbeat, London 2012

ROSS Davenport admits he went in his first Olympic Games as a wide-eyed youngster but eight years later he’s savouring every moment.

NUMBER THREE: Ross Davenport swam in Athens and Beijing and hopes to rely on experience to earn success in London 2012

The 28-year-old will swim in his third Games at London 2012 after qualifying for the 4x200 metre freestyle relay, and the Belper-born athlete can’t wait for the excitement to begin.

Davenport was disappointed to miss out on selection for the individual 200m freestyle after finishing tenth at Beijing in 2008 and will only swim the relay, as he did making his Games bow as a 20-year-old in Athens.

Older and wiser, Davenport believes he is well placed to enjoy all the benefits of the Games and knows just how to taper his training.

He said: “All the long hard slog is the bank now and it’s just about putting your feet up and really relaxing, but we’d still do more than the average swimmer would do.

“I went into Athens with not a clue what to expect. People spoke about this amazing sporting event, but I kind of went in blinded as I didn’t know what to expect.

“Beijing was different as I had a feeling of the water, as you’d expect, having been through the experience before and it was fantastic.”

© Sportsbeat 2012