Davies: I got out of jail free; SWIMMING.

RELIEVED David Davies admitted he got lucky yesterday after sneaking in to his third final of the week at the world championships in Rome.

The Welshman made it to the 1,500m freestyle showpiece in seventh place thanks to a laboured time of 15minutes 00.52 seconds.

And he admitted to feeling tired after his exertions in reaching the 400m and 800m finals earlier in the week.

Davies claimed bronze at the last two worlds in Montreal and Melbourne and also finished third in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

But he knows he has to spark back to life if he's to get his hands on a medal in tonight's Rome showdown.

The 24-year-old said: "I got a get-out-of-jail-free card because I felt really tired.

Blames "It has been a long week and when I was warming up I was a bit lethargic.

"I wasn't my usual self and didn't feel bouncy. There was no high tempo.

"I just didn't have the energy to go with the leaders when they pushed ahead and I was anxious waiting for the results to come up.

"But I have 36 hours to recover and will try to pull something out of the bag in the final."

Davies finished sixth in the 1,500m at the Beijing Olympics where 12 swimmers broke the 15-minute mark.

But only two competitors have managed that feat in Rome so far and the Welsh ace blames the introduction of the 800m freestyle - which is not an Olympic event.

He said: "I knew the 1500m here potentially wasn't going to be as fast as it was in Beijing.

"Guys did two 800s in the middle of the week and were also swimming relays.

"There was a fast 400m and a fast 800m so the 1500m times are just down to the accumulation of those races."

CAPTION(S):

David: Luck on his side