That there has been a changing of the guard in British distance freestyle swimming was obvious the moment Daniel Fogg beat David Davies, the Olympic silver and bronze medal winner, at the London 2012 trials in March.
That rivalry will reach its head on Saturday when the two go head to head off the Portuguese coast over 10km to see who will race in The Serpentine at the Games this summer.
If Fogg is the man who qualifies for London, you might see Davies approach his former training partner on the pontoon in Portugal and ask for a ton of kit back.
“When I first met him he was a student and very much trying to work his way up the ladder,” Davies said. “He was a minute slower than me at that stage in the 1,500 metres. He didn’t have any of the gear, no racing suits, sponsorships. I’d give him a couple of suits from my sponsor but now he’s beating me I might ask for them back.”
Truth be known, there is no animosity. “There’s no bitterness - unless he punches me on the start line. Dan is one of my closest friends in swimming and one of my best mates,” Davies said. “We’re very close, we talk often and we’ve got a lot of things in common. I imagine it’s going to be a bit bizarre: we’ll room together but one will go [to the London marathon] and one won’t be there.”
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At the trials in March at the London Aquatics Centre, Fogg swam inside 15 minutes over 1,500 metres for the first time. The waters where the Sado River meets the Atlantic in Setubal, south of Lisbon, is a very different place. Davies learnt how different the open water event can be back in Beijing when, disorientated in what was only his third 10km race, he veered off course on the home stretch and Maarten van der Weijden, the Dutchman, stole past him on a straight course to gold.
“I was the best swimmer but not the best open water swimmer,” Davies said. “At that point I was a virtual amateur. I was the third race that I’d ever done and I won an Olympic medal. I was quite proud of it. It’s not going to haunt me in my 40s that I should have won gold.”
After Beijing, Davies moved to Loughborough and switched coach to Kevin Renshaw, leaving Cardiff and his lifelong swimming mentor, Dave Haller. The challenge was just what Fogg, 24, needed but for Davies it was too much.
“Overtraining, chronic fatigue, burnout call it what you want,” he said, looking back at a time when retirement appeared to be the only way out. “There was a point at which i thought it might be me. I did all the blood tests, saw doctors, considered nutrition - but everything was fine. My diet was fine. I was just knackered, basically.”
Rest and a gentle return over two years were what Haller prescribed when his charge returned home. “Swimming is hard and distance swimming is even harder,” Davies said. “I’m not old at 27 but I’ve been doing this for a long time: ten years of doing 75km a week is bound to take a toll eventually. I’ve felt guilty about not being able to do things I used to do but you can’t compare yourself to the 19-year-old you were. It’s almost like you’re looking at two different athletes.”
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Whoever wins the ticket, expect to see both men at The Serpentine this summer, one cheering on the other. “It’s a fantastic setting. The ideal scenario,” Davies said. “I’m praying for a sunny day. The whole thing could be a really good image of the Games.”