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Bermuda's 100m freestyle swimmer Roy Allen Burch hopes to take a 'big chunk' out of his personal best when he makes his Olympic debut at 'The Cube' next week.

But the 22-year-old has already set his sights beyond Beijing to a bigger and better performance at London 2012.

Burch, on Tuesday, and Kiera Aitken, on Sunday, will be the first Bermudians into the fray as the Games get under way in Beijing.

The pair arrived in China early this week and have been training with some of the world's best swimmers - including 50m freestyle World Record Holder Eamon Sullivan - at the stylish purpose built Olympic pool - known as The Cube for it's striking architectural design.

Burch said they were not phased by the atmosphere or the pressure of competing in-front of a full house and were looking forward to the heats.

"This is all I've been thinking about for months. I normally run pretty well in those kind of atmospheres. It only helps my performance.

"I definitely think I'll take a big chunk out of my personal best and that will help me set forth to the next goal, which is to be competitive at the London games."

Burch, like most of the Bermuda teams, admits beating his personal best of 52.4 seconds and setting a new national record is the limit of his ambition this time.

But he hopes to impress enough and make the right kind of contacts to make a serious bid for the 2012 games.

"A personal best is pretty much all I can aspire to in these Games. It's very hard to compete against guys that have been training 6-8 hours a day for the past ten years.

"If you want to compete with the best you've got to train like the best."

Burch said he had already spoken with the first swimming black World Record Holder Cullen Jones about the possibility of training with his swim club in North Carolina after the Games.

"I just spoke to him briefly and he was very encouraging. He said 'you'd be amazed what my coach could do with you in a month.

"I'm going to look into it and hopefully I can get some funding and really put forth a good effort for London, to have a better chance of competing.

"I don't know what I am capable of but getting to a semi-final would be the ultimate dream and I think, with the right training, that is within reach."

Burch, who attends Springfield College in Massachussets, said he had been doing intense strength training and plyometric as well as six sessions a week in the Olympic long-course pool ahead of the Games.

"I'm feeling really good. Technically I've had better preparation than I've had at big meets for a while. The pool is extremely fast. The atmosphere is as good as it gets. I'm just trying to prepare as best I can and put in the best performance I can."

Aitken, who made her Olympic debut at Athens 2004, said she was also hoping to beat her personal best in the 100 metre backstroke.

"It's my second Games but it's still just as exciting for me and I hope to do as well as I did in Athens.

"I'm feeling good. I'm still a little nervous but I'm confident I can do well.

"It's not really important to win the heat - it goes on times and that's all I'm looking at. I'm not really anywhere near qualifying. I'd have to go around 1.01 - I'm really just hoping to go under 1.04."

Aitken's current best and the Bermuda record is 1.04.6.

She added: "The pool's amazing. It's been good in training. It's different when the stands are full of people, though. I'll just have to see what it's like on Sunday."

Triathlete Flora Duffy, perhaps Bermuda's best chance of a top-ten finish, was the last to arrive in Beijing, touching down yesterday evening. She does not compete until August 18 and will spend the next week acclimatizing and completing her training at the purpose built facility near the course at the Ming Tomb Reservoir in the Changping District of northern Beijing.

"I'll be going down there to swim and ride tomorrow (Friday). I've raced there before at the Beijing World Cup event so I know the course

"For me these Games is just going to be all about the experience, staying in the village, trying to absorb it all. Anything can happen on the day. The past two Olympic winners have been surprises. They came from nowhere to win so we'll have to see what happens.

"I want to do a good race and hope for the best.

"I'm probably one of the youngest in the race. The oldest is 36 do I've got 10 or 15 years and hopefully a few more Olympics yet."[[In-content Ad]]

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