Shelley Pearson flies to Chile tomorrow for her one and only shot at qualifying for the Olympic Games in August.

Pearson, who is hoping to become the first Bermuda rower to compete at the Games since Jim Butterfield in Munich in 1972, will compete at the Latin American Continental Qualification Regatta in less than two weeks’ time.

A top-six finish in Valparaiso, Chile, would secure Pearson a spot in Rio, although she is not looking much past the end of the month.

As well as trying to reach the Games, Pearson is coming to the end of her master’s degree in child development and education at Oxford University.

“The most I’ve been able to look beyond the regatta are the two weeks following, during which I have four final assignments due and two exams,” Pearson said.

Balancing the demands of her degree and training for the pinnacle of her sport has not been easy for Pearson, but a training camp in Italy and sessions on the London Olympics course in Dorney Lake have helped.

The trip to Italy was especially useful for the Bermuda rower, who travelled with the Oxford women’s squad for a week’s hard work.

“That was fantastic,” Pearson said. “We had glorious weather and some great side-by-side racing. We spent a lot of time on the water, which enabled me to focus on making positive technical changes.”

The winter training in England was different again and enabled Pearson to experience similar conditions to what she is likely to face in Chile — and Rio if she succeeds in qualifying.

“Thankfully, the rivers and lakes never freeze in England, but we have had quite a lot of flooding and high winds. With the flooding, I’ve had to move to Dorney Lake, but this has been great in terms of exposure to a course similar to what I will experience in Chile.

“It is quite unprotected, so I’ve become very familiar with training in rolling waves.”

As the qualifiers near, high-volume training has switched to speed work for Pearson, who will be in action in Chile on March 19 and 20.

On her arrival this weekend, Pearson will familiarise herself with the course and begin developing a strategy to beat rowers whom she knows very little about.

“I’m confident, although I will always respect my competition,” she said. “I know very little about my competition, but I fully expect there to be close races and fights to the finish line.”