Cheria Morgan admits “it’s been a long time coming” as she prepares to compete in Bermuda for the first time in tonight’s XL Catlin National Championships at the National Stadium.

Morgan, born in Canada to a Bermudian mother and Jamaican father, has largely flown under the radar of the Bermudian public’s sporting consciousness having spent her entire athletic career in North America.

The 26-year-old is among several athletes at the championships trying to qualify for the Rio Olympic Games and will look to announce herself in style in tonight’s 100 metres prelims.

“This will be only my second race of the season so I’m a little rusty right now, but hopefully being home will bring out the best in me,” Morgan said. “I spent a lot of childhood summers in Bermuda and I’m really excited to be back.

“The support here has been great, particularly from my family in Bermuda who are all looking forward to seeing me and I hope to make them proud.”

Having experienced the international level when she travelled to Moscow for the 2013 World Championships with Canada, Morgan is now hoping to don the blue and red Lycra of Bermuda in Rio.

She will need to shave almost three tenths of a second off her personal best time of 11.60 to meet the qualifying standard of 11.32.

“My long-term goal is to compete at the Olympics and I definitely haven’t ruled Rio out,” said the former University of Illinois student. “I’ve got a bit of time to shave off but in track anything can happen.

“If you get the right race and the right wind, things can go in your favour.”

Plagued with injuries over the past few years, Morgan has cut the 200 from her sprint repertoire in an effort to prolong her career.

She missed the start of the season because of a herniated disc in her back, which required an epidural injection, but hopes the worst of her injury problems are behind her.

“I need to take into consideration the troubles I’ve had, with my coach telling not to get ahead of myself and to stay patient,” said Morgan, who will be joined on the starting blocks by Marvellous Iheukwumere of Nigeria, her team-mate in Phoenix, Arizona.

“If I start thinking, ‘oh, I’m going to be in the Olympics’, I’ll probably try and rush my race and then things tend not to work out for you.

“I’m staying realistic but Rio is still in the back of my mind. I’m just taking things race by race.”

Morgan added: “Post-collegiately I’ve battled a lot of injuries so I’ve had to cut down to just the 100 as I can’t go on the corners as much and do the 200.

“Now I’m solely a 100 runner which I love; I love the speed and the adrenalin.”

Morgan, who intends to study to become a chiropractor within the next few years, was an alternate for Canada in the 4x100 at the 2013 World Championships.

It was in the Russian capital where Morgan met Troy Douglas, the Bermuda coach, with the pair discussing the possibility of her representing the island.

She was set to debut for the island at last summer’s Pan Am Games in Toronto before she fell foul of changes made to the qualifying standards.

“I reached out to Troy a few times after I met him in Moscow and we stayed in contact,” she said. “I’m already Bermudian so it just worked out.”