The Olympic 10km marathon swimming test event will take place on Saturday in the open waters of the Serpentine.
Swim event to go ahead despite riots
The 10km marathon swimming test event, complete with its new Olympic timing feature, will take place despite the riots that have ripped through London.
World 10km champion Spyros Gianniotis and multiple world champion Thomas Lurz are among the high-class field set to compete in the open waters of the Serpentine, Hyde Park, on Saturday.
David Luckes, London 2012's head of sport competition, said: "It has been a difficult week for the UK.
"Certainly we take our advice from the security services and that advice is always subject to ongoing review.
"We are always working to ensure that the safety and security of the athletes is paramount.
"The safety and security of anyone that comes to watch is paramount as well. We are doing everything to ensure that."
An intermediate timing gate is being introduced for the first time at an Olympics in the race.
London 2012's aquatics manager Charlotte O'Neill claims it "enhances the experience for spectators".
She said: "As the athletes come around, everyone will be able to get lap times and split times, so there is a lot more data from the swimmers as they go around."
The swimmers, both male and female, will race in an anti-clockwise direction for 10km.
There is a dive start off a pontoon, with the six-lap course and its sprint finish marked off with buoys. The depth of the water is about 1.75 to two metres.
There will also be a feeding station on the pontoon in which each athlete will be allowed a single coach who can hand out drinks and food. The athletes can pass that five times.
Testing the exact locations of the turn buoys, the configuration of the start-finish pontoons, the timing gates and the feeding stations are the top priorities for the organisers.
Most of the lake is being used in the 10km course, so any changes thrown up by the test event might involve "small tweaks", perhaps resulting in a buoy being shifted or its colouring being changed slightly.
The position of the boats on the water may also have to change, depending on feedback, according to Ms O'Neill.
Gianniotis, of Greece, swam a powerful 10km race at the recent World Championships in Shanghai to claim victory ahead of German Lurz, the 2008 Olympic bronze medallist, before the positions were reversed in the 5km event.
Britain's Keri-Anne Payne won the 10km women's race at Jinshan City Beach but is currently on a break ahead of her training for the London Olympics and will not compete.
The silver and bronze medallists in China behind the Stockport ITC swimmer, Martina Grimaldi of Italy and Greece's Marianna Lymperta, will both feature.
British Swimming development squad pair Rachael Williamson and Lucy Charles provide the domestic competition at the event, which is free to the public.
Ms O'Neill said: "Historically, marathon swimming events often take place away from the hub of the action, by the sea or the coast.
"In Beijing it was away from the Olympic Park, so we are excited that we are actually bringing marathon swimming to the heart of the city, which is not always possible."
