Davies is faced with toughest test of all; Beating ace Hackett will be tall order, says Sharron Countdown to Beijing 2 Days.

Byline: Simon KENDALWILLIAMS

IF David Davies strikes gold in Beijing, it will be a "phenomenal achievement," according to one former Olympian.

Sharron Davies, who clinched a silver medal in Moscow 28 years ago, believes the men's 1,500m freestyle is one of the toughest events in Beijing.

Australian Grant Hackett is aiming to become the first man to win three Olympic golds in an event where his competitors have been playing catch-up.

"If David can somehow get the better of one of the best swimmers the world has ever seen, it will be a phenomenal achievement," said Davies.

"It's unfortunate for David and his generation that Hackett has been around at the same time.

"There are about eight of them who are going sub-15 minutes at the moment, which means there are probably seven of them fighting for two medals.

"It's going to be tough just to get on the podium.

"But David has been around for a long time already and knows exactly what he's doing.

The Welshman will also swim in the 10km open water race on August 20, but Davies has no doubt which event is his priority.

"I think David sees the open water very much as a bonus," said Davies.

"He's still working very hard for the 1,500m - that's his main priority and all his training is geared towards that.

He sees it very much like a training session, except that there's no rest.

"Because it's in a lake, not the sea, you don't have to adapt your stroke too much, but he can more than hold "It can get a bit rough out there, especially at the start with limbs everywhere, and you have to pace yourself over the two hours or you'll pay the price."

Davies looked set to dominate her sport after claiming second spot in her second Olympics in 1980 at the age of 17, having already won two Commonwealth golds.

But she announced her shock retirement less than a year later, and, although she returned in 1988 and swam in a third Olympiad, Davies finally hung up her swimsuit in 1994.

By then, she been a British champion on 20 occasions and had broken 200 national swimming records.

So who does she see as TeamGB's best medal chances in the pool in Beijing?

"British swimming is in pretty good shape at the moment," she said.

"The World Short Course Championships in Manchester were the most successful we've ever had.

"We won a lot of medals and also hada lot of swimmers swimming on the tail of world records, which has given us a lot of confidence.

"I think people like Rebecca Adlington, who's fairly unknown, but has had a sensational year, will be frightening the rest of the world."

Now, as well as her TV work, Davies is patron of Disabled Sport England and the Sports Aid Foundation, and is a high-profile figure in London's 2012 Olympic campaign.

And she is quick to justify the expense of bringing the Games to the United Kingdom for the first time in more than 60 years.

"We've had to inject money into it and build facilities which we so badly needed," she said.

"If you haven't great velodromes and swimming pools, you can't produce great champions.

"There are certain areas in sport in Britain where we have pockets of excellence, such as in rowing, cycling and equestrianism.

"The rest of us - track and field, swimming, gymnastics - we're all trying to catch up.

"The downside is that it's probably a bit late for 2012, getting those facilities up and running now with only four years to go.

"But they will definitely be the legacy of the London Olympics."

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GOING FOR GOLD: David Davies has been backed for Beijing glory by Sharron Davies, inset