Bermuda goes into the Commonwealth Games full of hope and expectation, and if the team's confidence is anything to go by then some top finishes, if not podium placings, are not out of the question.

While gunning for personal bests might be the realistic goal for many of the squad, there are those among it who can allow themselves to set a somewhat loftier target.

Pro cyclist Kris Hedges has been performing outstandingly for his US team Snow Valley and dominates in Bermuda on the occasions that he returns to the Island.

And middle distance runner Tamika Williams has come on leaps and bounds since joining the Nike Farm team in California and believes she has what it takes to at least get to the final of the 800 metres. She can at least say she has competed against many of those who will be taking to the track at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Swimmer Ronald Cowen is in the form of his life and while the pool will be dominated by the Australians a performance setting him apart from his compatriots is being touted as a distinct possibility.

"Based on times and performances I think Ronald is swimming at the highest level of the Bermuda team," said Ian Gordon, President of the Bermuda Amateur Swimming Association.

"I would like to see him progress beyond the preliminaries."

Gordon said fellow swimmers Roy-Allan Burch, Graham Smith and Kiera Aitken would do well to match the expectations of Cowen.

"We would be very pleased with them," he said. "Kiera Aitken, for example, could get beyond that.

"It's the same as in every sport though, it just depends what heat you get drawn in.

"If you are Ronald and you get drawn in the same heat as Ian Thorpe and one or two other Australians it doesn't matter how well you swim you would be struggling to progress. There is an element of the draw involved."

Gordon said all had prepared excellently for their respective events.

"From that point of view they have had the best opportunity," he said. "Graham Smith, Ronald and Kiera in particular, because they have all been overseas for most of the winter.

"Roy-Allan is the youngest of the four and has been trained almost exclusively here but has been in the UK for three weeks now. He is in a major period of development, if you like, and actually could be the surprise of the team. But primarily this is his first big opportunity to swim at the Commonwealth Games and it's an experience that will put him in good stead for the next time around."

Gordon said diver Katura Horton-Perinchief was highly regarded in Canada where she has done much of her competing.

"She has an expectation that she could do very well in certain events," he said. "She has been training very hard and seems to be in good frame of mind and is ready to compete. She is certainly looking at being in the final rounds of the diving. I might be speaking out of term but I think she has an expectation that if she dives well she could perhaps get on the podium."

Bermuda also has high hopes of Tyler Butterfield, though whether those hopes come to fruition at these Games or further down the line is open to debate. Butterfield (19), along with Kent Richardson and Karen Smith, will be competing in the triathlon and coach Dave Morrison said it will be a learning experience for him.

"At this point he has only just started to compete in the professional ranks," he said. "For example, at his last race in Edmonton I think three of the top five were going to be at the Commonwealth Games including Simon Whitfield, who is the Olympic gold medallist, who won, and Simon Lessing, who is a three time world champion from Britain.

"If you include all the top guys who are going to be there realistically it is going to be tough for him to break into the top 15 maybe."

Morrison said much would depend on how Butterfield performed in the swim, the weakest part of his competition.

"The thing about Olympic distance triathlon now where it is draft legal on the bike is that if you miss the pack when you come out and are left behind then you have to cycle effectively as a time trialist rather than actually being in a pack that is pulling you along and working together. It is nearly impossible (to catch up) unless you are a phenomenally good cyclist but then you burn your legs up and it's tough on the run."In Edmonton Butterfield was only 20 seconds off the riders including Whitfield.

"If he comes out the swim with a strong pack then he certainly can hold his own on the bike and he will be one of the better runners in the field," said Morrison. "That could well propel him into the top 15. If he misses that swim and is left with a weaker group at the back or left on his own then he can still hope for a top 25 finish out of 40."

Morrison said 43-year-old Richardson, meanwhile, had worked extremely hard but would find the going tough.

"His swim is two or three minutes slower than Tyler's," he said. "Really for him it is going to be a question of can he beat some of the smaller nations' athletes. If he can get in with a group of them he has got a chance of competing. But he is not going to be competitive with the top guys."

Cycling is where Richardson is expected to excel.

"He is a very good cyclist," Gordon said. "Even if he doesn't come out with a group because his cycling is so strong it could pull him up.

"Realistically, he is an amateur competing among professionals and it will be very tough.

"I think his age will be a factor but he has done a 2:02 which is pretty strong. Trying to get under that has been tough but for his age he has done extremely well.

"Looking at some of the other small nations' athletes I think he has a realistic chance of beating some of those guys."

Morrison said Smith faced the same challenges as Richardson as an amateur among elite competitors.

"Her best time at the moment is around 2:14 and the best women's time is around 2:00 or just under at 1:59," he said. "She is hoping to get onto a group with a number of triathletes that we have identified and if she can hold onto them could pull her out with a reasonable swim time. There are two Scottish athletes who are likely to be working together and so if she can get into working with them then, with the strong run that she has, she could finish somewhere in the region of 12 and 16 out of the 20 or so women."

Cyclist Hedges is joined by Steve Millington and Geri Mewett in the mens event, while Melanie Claude and Julia Hawley make up the womens team.

"Our expectations are that our riders will ride to the best of their ability," said Martin Bolton, President of the Bermuda Bicycle Association. "But anything can happen in a bike race. To be realistic we don't expect to put anyone on the podium, but you never know."

Bolton said on a good day Hedges and Mewett could mix it in top class competition.

"They could hold their own against the top riders in North America but I am not so sure whether they could hold their own against the top riders from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa," he said.

Bolton said he expected Claude and Hawley, if they were on the game, to give the pro riders a run for their money.

"We would love to put somebody on the podium but we need a touch of luck," he said. "Some of the Canadian women are riding extremely strongly. The two girls here have ridden against them already in the Fitchburg Classic a few weeks ago. Lyne Bessette was five minutes ahead of the field, which included our two, so they are right in there."

Some competitors have been to the Commonwealth Games before and squash players Tommy Sherratt and Nick Kyme will be looking to improve on their performances in Malaysia four years ago. But as Bermuda director of squash Ross Triffitt explains, it will be far from easy.

"Obviously, the competition is just incredible," said Triffitt. "We have 13 of the top 15 male players in the world actually competing in the singles event. So it would be safe to see we would have to do something amazing to actually medal in that event."

Triffitt said it might be possible for the pair to advance if they got a favourable draw.

"There is quite a diversity of countries actually competing in the event and quite a diverse standard as well," he said. "We certainly expect both our players to do fairly well against some of the lesser countries. I think it's a question of how the draw pans out.

"They do have a consolation round so if they do meet one of the professionals early on it is likely they will meet some of the smaller countries in that."

In Malaysia both players went out in the first round.

"Nick Kyme was in fact up against David Palmer, who was ranked number one in the world two or three month ago," he said. "So he had an extremely tough match. He then managed to beat a Guyanese player in the consolation round before getting knocked out by the eventual winner from Papua New Guinea."

Triffitt said both players had shown great improvement in their game in recent years.

"We are certainly expecting some improved results from them this time around," he said. "Nick, especially, has been doing extremely well and has been focused on his training and has had some excellent results in the Caribbean recently. It is safe to say we are expecting some good things from him."

Kalena Astwood, Maria Darby and Casey Lopes carry Bermuda's hopes in gymnastics.

Coach Walid Mustafa said all three had made a lot of sacrifices to get to this point and had shown no signs of letting up.

"They are maintaining their focus and poise with their training and attitude," he said. "At the moment we are getting adjusted to the different style of equipment but they seem to be getting more and more comfortable and confident with each workout. "As a team our goal is to `hit' four out of four events and hopefully that will be enough to get a girl to the finals."

However, Mustafa said it was not all about competition.

"On the other side of the Games, the girls understand that being here is not only about gymnastics," she said. "It is also about representing Bermuda with pride, being a good ambassador, and meeting and supporting the other athletes here with them and being part of Team Bermuda."

Without doubt, Bermuda's most experienced squad member is triple jumper Brian Wellman, who will be competing in his third Commonwealth Games.

But the man who back in his hey-day grabbed gold at the World Indoor Championships in Barcelona and then took silver behind Jonathan Edwards' world record jump at the Gothenburg World Outdoor Championships in 1995 has failed to reproduce such dazzling form in recent years.

He missed qualifying for the final at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and his name has been conspicuously absent from all of the major meets since.

In contrast, up and coming sprinter Xavier James, the son of MP and former national team cricketer El James, has been posting some impressive times in the last year and will be eager to see how he matches up against some of the world's best in Manchester.

Strangely, however, James has opted to skip the 100 metres and will run in the 200 metres only.

Shooters Sinclair Rayner, Carl Reid, Ross Roberts and Nelson Simons will also be looking to put in some top performances when they take aim at the Bisley shooting range.