Aaron Evans begins his bid for the Rio Olympics at this month’s Bermuda Invitational Permit Meet after missing the start of the season because of injury.

Evans’s opening race was meant to be at last weekend’s Pepsi Florida Relays but he was forced to pull out because of a recurrence of a heel injury.

The 800-metres runner has suffered with plantar fasciitis, known as jogger’s heel, over the past few years with the injury rearing its ugly head during a ten-week training trip in Bahamas.

Evans reached out to one of his sponsors — Dr Ewart Brown, the founder and executive chairman of Bermuda HealthCare Services — as he sought the necessary medical attention while overseas.

Dr Brown, a former middle-distance runner who competed in the Commonwealth Games in Jamaica in 1966, has sponsored two of the Permit Meet races, the 400 and 800 metres, on behalf of Bermuda HealthCare Services and Brown-Darrell Clinic.

“I have wrestled with plantar fasciitis for the last couple of seasons,” said Evans, who is based in Oregon.

“This episode was particularly distressing because I’m in a foreign environment and I couldn’t get the treatment I needed to recover from this.

“I was on the verge of returning to Oregon to seek the treatment I needed when I decided to contact Dr Ewart Brown and Bermuda HealthCare Services.

“True to form, Dr Brown made some enquires and found an excellent Bahamian doctor who has been treating me for the last week.”

Evans must shatter his personal best of 1min 46.26sec and run 1:46.00 to achieve his lifelong ambition of qualifying for the Rio Games

The Team Run Eugene athlete is determined to ensure there is no repeat of the disappointment he experienced four years ago when he narrowly missed out on qualifying for the London Olympics.

But he admits it is unlikely he will reach the mark in front of his home crowd at the Invitational Permit Meet.

“I’m still on course to reach the Olympic standard I did some tests over 600 metres right before my injury flared up and I was in good form,” Evans said.

“The injury has thrown me off-kilter for five weeks but I’m resilient and determined to be a member of the Bermuda team in Rio.

“To qualify in Bermuda would be so incredible and I’d be so elated to do so on home soil. However, I don’t think that will happen in my first race of the season.”

The inaugural Bermuda Invitational Permit Meet will be one of the biggest athletics events to be held on the island, involving prize money and world-class competitors from the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.

It will be one of a series of permit meets that are being held in the region, including Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Jamaica.

Top Bermuda athletes Tyrone Smith, Tre Houston and Shianne Smith are expected to return to the island for the two-hour meet. Among the overseas athletes taking part are Canadian high jumper Emma Kimoto and sprinters Beejay Lee of the US and Jamaica’s Oshane Bailey.

“It’s a great opportunity for Bermudian athletes during an Olympic year to get some quality competition on home soil,” said Evans, who finished sixth in the 800 final at last summer’s Pan Am Games in Toronto.

“I would have preferred to get in a few races before the Permit Meet but it looks like I’ll be opening my season in Bermuda.

“I won’t be as sharp as I’d have liked but I’m always excited to run in Bermuda and it will be fun to open up on home soil. I’ve not started a season in Bermuda since my pre-university days.

“It’s the first meet of its kind in Bermuda so I’m hoping to see it grow and grow.”

Some of the overseas athletes confirmed for the 800 are Ricardo Cunningham from Jamaica, Wesley Vasquez from Puerto Rico and Trinidad’s Jamaul James.

“The guys that are coming are some of the top 800 runners in our region,” Evans added.

“I’m excited to have the Puerto Rican national record holder Wesley Vasquez coming because he’s a 1:44 guy who likes to take the race out at a fast pace.”

The Bermuda Invitational Permit Meet will be held on Friday, April 22 at the National Stadium, National Sports Centre.