Kyrah Scraders, Bermuda’s top junior middle-distance runner, can barely wait to compete at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China, this month.

The Berkeley Institute pupil is one of seven athletes who will fly Bermuda’s banner when the Games start in seven days’ time.

Scraders, 17, is competing in her signature 800 metres event, in which she hopes to improve on her personal best of 2min 8.91sec.

“I am very excited about going to China and even more excited about the competition and getting a new personal best,” Scraders said.

“I have been running 2:10 this year and I want to get that down. I just want to make it into the A final and anything beyond that would be a bonus.

“I have been watching video of the races last year, so I am excited and not nervous at all. It’s going to be a good experience running on a higher stage other than World Juniors and World Youth Championships.”

Scraders achieved a personal best and the Bermuda junior girls’ record in the 800 at last year’s World Juniors in the Ukraine.

Since then she has won gold in the girls’ under-17 800 and silver in the 1,500 at April’s Carifta Games in Martinique and gold in both the 14-17 girls’ junior B 800 and 400 at last month’s CAC Junior Championships in Morelia, Mexico.

“It has been a good year for me and overall I am encouraged by my performances,” Scraders said.

The Team Signa runner has stepped up her preparations for the Youth Olympics at a training camp in Oregon.

“It was my second time doing the camp and it was a good experience,” she said.

“It was pretty intense and I think it has helped my preparations because Peter Thompson, the guy who trained us, taught me how to keep my rhythm when I’m running so when I do my laps they will be even.”

Jarita Vickers, the assistant national middle-distance running coach, is optimistic that Scraders will fulfil her goals in China.

“I think Kyrah is in very good form and her training is going well,” she said. “She is mentally focused right now, she is in tune and I think she is ready to go out there and run fast.

“Kyrah is at a certain level at this point and when you get to this level of competition it is your mental state that is going to play the biggest part on how you perform.”

Also representing Bermuda in track and field in China are high jumper Jahnai Perinchief and sprinter Kionje Somner.

Perinchief warmed up for the Games, which run from August 16 to 28, by winning silver at last month’s Dutch National Championships in Amsterdam, where he set a personal best of 2.08 metres.