DAVID Davies (pictured) is all set to end 36 years of hurt and claim Wales' first Olympic medal in the swimming pool since Martin Wood-roffe in 1968.

Woodroffe won a silver medal in Mexico City in the 200m butterfly. Now Cardiff-born Davies looks set to end the drought after he sensationally qualified for the 1,500m freestyle final yesterday, setting a British record and beating his personal best.

Davies, who swims in the final today, was also the fastest qualifier, blowing Olympic champion Grant Hackett out of the water with a time of 14:57.03, becoming only the second person to swim under 15 minutes in an Olympic heat.

The 19-year-old admitted he's been itching to get in the pool having had to wait a whole week to get a slice of the action.

He said: "I'm the last guy to swim in the team so I've been itching to swim all week.

"I got here this morning and felt great and was very surprised at the time, but it was a nice surprise."

And Davies warned his chief rival, Australian world record holder Hackett, who was nearly five seconds slower than the Welshman, that he can go faster yet.

"It's great to go under 15 minutes. Someone has just told me that it has only been done once before, so it is a big surprise to do it.

"Hopefully I can go faster in the final, I'm sure I can."

Davies will be joined in the final by fellow Brit Graeme Smith who is convinced that his team-mate can grab a medal.

He said: "If Hackett is put under pressure then the gold medal is there to be won and we'll see what happens.

"David is in great shape and stands every chance, but if Hackett swims to his best then it will be hard to beat him.

"But the minor medals will be up for grabs and they are there for anyone to win."

Woodroffe is backing Davies to take his record and make history after yesterday's heats.

He said: "Obviously the most important thing is to get to the finals.

"David did that comfortably and hopefully he'll swim even faster in the final. We need to remember though that David's in the toughest race of all - not only is it the 1500m but he's up against Hackett.

"In my opinion, Hackett is the best-ever 1500m freestyler. And he was 0.2 seconds behind Thorpe in the 400m.

"He's not any old swimmer, he's a legend. If David finishes close to him, it will be awesome.

"A medal would be fantastic and he is capable of it but he's 19, in his first Olympics - if he doesn't get a medal in Athens, it will be a certainty in Beijing.

"I know him reasonably well and he comes across as a very calm, collected young man.

"He won't be fazed by the big occasion - he'll handle it all pretty well. He's worked very hard, he's a dedicated swimmer and he'll be in tip top condition. He's got what it takes."