Long-distance swimming silver medallist David Davies threw water at an Olympic official after his race.

The Welshman was talking to the press about his performance when an official tried to guide him towards his medal ceremony.

Davies turned to the official and said: "Will you shut up, please!"

But the official continued to interrupt Davies, who threw the contents of his water bottle at her.

Davies led for most of the 10km marathon swim but he was overtaken near the end of the two-hour race by Maarten van der Weijden who recently overcame leukaemia.

Davies said: "It's almost like a Lance Armstrong story. He's a complete gentleman and a great ambassador for the sport and he's Olympic champion now."

Davies was treated by medics after the race and carried away on a stretcher but he recovered quickly.

He added: "This was the hardest two hours of my life.

"It's one thing to get to the top of an Olympic sport or to get to the podium.

"But to stay focused for another four years and try to stay at the top of your sport, especially in the endurance events that I do, it's really tough and that's probably what I'm most proud of at the moment, that I kept at it for the last four years."

© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.