Champion Bermudian swimmer Roy Allen Burch has been hard at work raising money, as well as training, with his sights set on the 2012 London Olympics.Mr Burch will do both at 2.30pm today in the Bermuda Aquatic Swimming Association (BASA) pool when he takes on television presenter and veteran swimmer Ric Chapman in a 100 metre race.Although a keen amateur swimmer, Mr Chapman, creator of Bermuda’s first game show ‘Songopoly’, admits it won’t be easy.“This is serious stuff; I don’t want to get beaten. Roy’s in the top 30 in the world, he’s been to the Olympics, and he holds a national record. He’s the best in Bermuda.“I swim everyday to keep Father Time at bay, and I did the 100 metres in 63 seconds quite a few years back, but if Roy manages to swim at his national record time, I’m going to have to swim a national age record to hang on and beat him.”Either way, today’s face-off will benefit Mr Burch’s quest for the Olympics.If the younger man wins, ‘Songopoly’ will donate $200 to his cause but if Mr Chapman makes it first to the finish, the sum is $100.Age being the main factor, the more senior Mr Chapman has been given a one-second head start for each year that he is older than Mr Burch.“I’m getting a 25-second head start before he dives into the pool,” he said.The 100 metre freestyle challenge came about when the champion swimmer appeared as a guest on ‘Songopoly’, in an episode to air next Monday.Mr Chapman, who swims at the BASA pool at lunch times, discussed Mr Burch’s drive to compete in London in 2012 and in the course of the show, he said, “ego got in the way”.“I’m Australian, and there are four things we do: drink beer, chase women, play cricket and swim,” he said.Mr Burch, who swam the 100 metres in 52.6 seconds at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, said: “Ric’s a big fan of swimming and he challenged me. I usually don’t race till the weekends, but I have done some new things with my swimming and changed my technique.“I can guarantee 52 seconds on this one.”However today’s race goes, it will finance Mr Burch’s gruelling training to qualify for the next Olympic Games.“This is something people spend their lives getting ready for,” Mr Burch said. “It’s been three years now, and it’s coming very close to the final year. Now that I’m training with elite swimmers from the US, my competition has gotten a lot better.”Undaunted, Mr Chapman said: “I won’t say this is going to be a slaughter, but it’s certainly going to be a compelling race.”All are welcome today at the BASA pool at Saltus.