British hopes of a gold medal in the water rest on Keri-Anne Payne's shoulders on Thursday when she takes to the Serpentine for the 10 kilometre open water.
Payne won silver in Beijing and has subsequently claimed two world crowns to be cast as favourite.
The 24-year-old is adamant the nature of open water, with the different types of course, renders that meaningless.
She told said: "You can see from the results over the last couple of years....
"I was second in Beijing, I won the worlds after that but then the worlds after that I came 10th and then in Shanghai I won.
"So it completely depends on who is the best athlete on the day, who makes the right decisions and the best decisions and so I just have to go in and focus on what I have to do and then hope for the best."
The swimmer was training on Wednesday in the Serpentine, where she will do six laps on Thursday, accompanied by - among others - Daniel Fogg, his coach Kevin Renshaw and open water performance manager Mark Perry.
Some practice was focusing on the finishing board which competitors have to slap at the end of the race, which is higher than usual here.
Of Payne, Perry said: "She's in good spirits, she's on form I think. "She changes as the race gets closer. You can tell when she's got her game face on. She's definitely up for the race now."