David Davies, the Olympic and world bronze medallist over 1,500m freestyle for Britain, has taken a stroke towards joining pool rival Grant Hackett (AUS) for the inaugural 10km thrash in Beijing with victory at the South African Open Water Championships in Cape Town.

In 1:53:58.00, Davies was a league apart from opponents, including the silver medallist, teammate Alan Bircher, an open-water specialist. The win qualified Davies for the 5th FINA World Open Water Championships in Seville on May 3. There, Hackett and Davies will meet for the first time should they both take their marathon plans to the next stage.

'I've been training hard and before I came out to South Africa I had talked through tactics for the race with my [new] coach [Kevin Renshaw] and decided to try and get myself an early lead and really starting kicking in the final 2km,' said Davies. 'I was really comfortable over the first few kilometres. At one point in the final laps of the race I thought my legs might die but the motor kicked in and I felt really strong. My rhythm was good through the race so I am very happy with my performance. I felt good in the final lap and to cross the finish line when I had managed to pull away from the pack earlier in the race was a great feeling.'

As to whether he will actually compete in a Beijing race that may well see open-water specialists washed away by pool swimmers, especially given the facility in China - the rowing lake has sides, a bottom and is even chlorinated - he said: 'At this stage it's hard to say what will happen. If I do finish in the top ten in Seville then Kevin Renshaw, Sean Kelly [Britain head coach to open water] and myself will have a sit down a re-evaluate the situation. Open water swimming is one of the most developing sports in the world at the moment, and Britain's progress in the event is fantastic and very exciting to be part of. The quality of the field in Seville will be very strong so it will not be easy to qualify but should I make the grade, the possibility of competing in the 10km at the Beijing Olympics will be high.'

Kelly's charges, Keri-Anne Payne and Cassie Patten, are also looking for Beijing berths. Payne got the win in South Africa, in 2:05:43.00, with Patten third in 2:05:51.00. Patten had already qualified for Seville, by taking the silver medal over 10km by a stroke behind Larisa Ilchenko (RUS) at Melbourne 2007 last March.

Kelly said: 'David Davies put in a phenomenal performance in his first ever 10km race and to finish ahead of the rest of the field in the way he did was a great achievement. Alan Bircher is Britain's most experienced open water swimmer and put in yet another fine performance to secure his place in Seville also. Keri-Anne put in a great swim in the women's event to join Cassie in Spain too.'