Davies now has Commonwealth Gold to add to his Olympic bronze

The 1500m requires strength, stamina, speed and technique to reach world class standard like Wales' David Davies.

Dave Haller, the coach of Olympic bronze medallist, explains what makes a good endurance swimmer.

And Davies explains how to pace the perfect 1500m race.

David has a long and lanky body and doesn't carry too much bulk, the perfect build for a distance swimmer.

He has very light muscles and a huge pair of lungs - an eight-litre lung capacity, which is similar to Olympic standard rowers.

He is also quite slight and has the bonus of possessing a big "engine".

Along with the physical attributes David also has a lot of determination and sets very high standards in training to follow.

He swims at least 50 to 60 miles per week when he is training. He will do 30 lengths - and that is not even his warm up.

His other main strength is his mental attitide - he will never give up.

Anyone who wants to follow in David's footsteps needs to find a good club which has a programme suited to endurance swimming.

Academy: Find a local swimming club

They also need to work on technique. A lot of people tend to think endurance swimmers don't need good technique. Wrong - they need great technique.

Bashing up and down the pool hoping it will improve your speed isn't the way forward. Technique helps to develop speed, the crucial element to any race.

The 1500m requires a lot of thought strategy. You have to think about the start, middle and the end of your race and pace it accordingly.

All these elements make the perfect endurance swimmer.

The 1500m is one of the hardest events in swimming. It takes 15 minutes for me - or hopefully just under.

It is a long, long slog and demands plenty of intense training.

You have to look after yourself, rest and eat the right food, so it is very demanding on the body and mind.

Grant Hackett is the 1500m legend in the world of swimming

You have to be perfect in everything - you can't leave anything back or you will suffer during the race.

Once the race has started, there are so many things to think about - it is like a cat and mouse game.

You have to count your laps and think about your pacing and stroke.

And then there is the finish - saving your legs to bring you home.

You can't finish too hard or go out too early and not have anything left at the end.

The race goes by really quickly but some people might get bored watching the action.