Games starting on Sunday when Chris Flook opens the country's participation in the 100 metres breaststroke.

A week of arduous training in Cardiff, Wales, proved to be just the tonic for coach Gareth Davies and his young charges before dipping into the Olympic Pool at the Bernat Picornell for the first time.

Davies called on an old friend to help him out in Wales and the swimmers had two sessions a day in a full-size pool.

"The pool that we were in was used in the Empire Games (now Commonwealth Games) in 1958,'' said Davies. "It's an oldish pool but it was certainly very adequate.'' "A friend of mine who used to coach in Hong Kong gave us access in the mornings and in the evenings at perfect times. We established a routine there, got up between 6.00 and 6.30 every morning and we then trained between 7.00 and 7.30 and got home for breakfast and were in bed by 9.00 at night.

"We have maintained that right until now. The reason we are doing that is so that we can be ready to swim fast by the 10.00 start.'' Davies added that they picked the right time to go up north because the weather was "superbly'' cool, a welcome change for the swimmers as they escaped the Bermuda heat.

"The water was getting too hot in Bermuda to adequately train and it was good to get into a 50-metre pool,'' he said. "All of then seem to have adapted very well.'' After training in a nearby pool on Tuesday, Bermuda took a step up in class yesterday and were duly impressed. "We trained in the outdoor competition pool, it was our one chance to have nobody else in the lane,'' said Davies.

"It is absolutely superb. The main pool has very high sloping stands on each side. The psychological impression when you go into it is that the pool is short, and that's a great impression to go into a meet with.

"Indoors they have another superb 50-metre pool, almost the same as the outdoor one, a warm-up pool and a warm-down pool. It really is first-class.'' Flook leads the way on Sunday and he will be followed by Jenny Smatt in the 200 breastroke and Ian Raynor (100 butterfly) on Monday.

Geri Mewett sees his first action on Tuesday in the 100 freestyle, with Raynor, while sentimental favourites Mike Cash and Craig Morbey make their Olympic debuts in the engine room of the 4x100 freestyle relay.

Cash and Morbey were the late additions to the Olympic team after the recommendation of the equestrian Dennis Cherry was rescinded due to bad form.

"They are very positive, very pleased and very grateful,'' said Davies.

"We all know that it was clearly a discretionary call on the part of the BOA and that there was no need for them to go out and push for these final two places and they are very well aware of that.

CHRIS FLOOK -- Will launch Bermuda's Olympic challenge on Sunday.