DAVIES DISAPPOINTED OVER HACKETT WITHDRAWAL
Olympic and World medallist David Davies has spoken of his
disappointment following the withdrawal of Australian swimming
legend Grant Hackett from next year's Commonwealth Games.
Hackett, the Olympic and World 1500m Freestyle champion,
has been forced to pull out of the Melbourne Games in March
due to a shoulder injury.
It comes as a blow to Davies, 20, who was looking to renew
his rivalry with Hackett - an athlete he has absolute respect
for.
"I'm obviously disappointed because when you are at
a major meet you want your biggest rivals to be there to help
make sure you put in a very best performance," said Davies.
"It's a real blow to lose any swimmer but to lose someone
as high-calibre as Grant is a massive loss.
"Personally, I'm gutted for him. We get on well and
it will be a real shame that he won't be there."
Davies is under no illusions, however, that he still faces
a wealth of talent vying for Commonwealth honours.
"There are still a lot of great swimmers around and
it's going to be a tough job to go there and swim well,"
he said.
Hackett, 25, has been struggling with the shoulder complaint
for the past year and will take time off now in order to recuperate.
He said: "I want to ensure my longevity in the sport
and I've still got a lot of things I want to achieve. If I
let it drag on it could get worse and worse, and could eventually
become a major problem."
Davies, who is currently training in Spain, will be out to
ensure his Commonwealth selection to the Welsh team when he
competes at the Welsh ASA Winter Meet in Swansea next weekend
(2nd to 4th December).
The three-day meet begins on Friday at the Wales National
Pool and England's swimmers will use it as their final chance
to earn a place on the team bound for Melbourne in March.
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