Lamont Marshall, the Bermuda distance runner, has been handed a golden opportunity to qualify for this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow by competing in a high-level invitational track meet in Jamaica.

Sprint legend Don Quarrie, who is the event director, has opened the door to the Bermuda record-holder to compete in a 1,500 metres race in Kingston on Saturday.

Marshall is seeking to shave 1.5 seconds from his personal best to achieve the qualifying time of 3min 45sec for the Games.

He is expected to line up with a number of athletes who have run well below 3:45. In the past two years, the event has been won in times of 3:35 and 3:44.

Qualifying for the Games in July is the top priority for Marshall. Only if he achieves the target time will he turn his attention to next month’s Bermuda Half Marathon Derby, the Island’s most famous road race and one of the few domestic titles that he has yet to capture.

“He has a few track races lined up,” Larry Marshall, his father and coach, said. “He feels the 1,500 is the best chance he has of making the qualifying standard.”

Marshall has run a shade slower than 3:46 for the metric mile. He is closer to reaching the Games standard at that distance than either the 800 or 5,000, both of which he has also considered. Marshall holds Bermuda track records at 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000.

“The 800 qualifying is 1:50,” his father added. “Two weeks ago, he ran 1:54, which is going to be useful speed in a 1,500 metres race.”

That 800 result was the latest in a series of noteworthy performances by Marshall since the start of the year. He was only one second outside his national 3,000 metres record of 8:25 in February, but perhaps his most the most impressive 2014 result to date was his 36:36 in the Fairmont-to-Fairmont 7.2-mile road race in January.

This weekend’s Jamaica International Invitational track and field meeting is being overseen by former Olympic 200 metres champion Quarrie. The Jamaican sprinter was one of the sport’s biggest names during the 1970s and won six Commonwealth Games gold medals.

Lamont’s father contacted Quarrie to ask if his son could be considered as a competitor.

“It is an invitational meet, but he was kind enough to accommodate Lamont. We are very appreciative of him for giving Lamont this opportunity,” he said.

“It is going to be a quality field with five or six guys who have sub 3:40s on their resume.”

Marshall, 29, has been training hard with fellow Bermuda international runner Tre Simons, with whom he led home Bermuda’s team in the NACAC Cross Country Championships in February. The Devonshire athlete will fly to Jamaica on Thursday to prepare for the weekend race.

Last week’s news that Chris Estwanik, the five-times Bermuda Half Marathon Derby champion, has been ruled out of competing in next month’s race because of injury for a second consecutive year has led to speculation that Marshall may compete for the first time since 2011. He has finished runner-up on several occasions.

His father said: “It has not been ruled out. A lot depends on Saturday and if he can get the qualifying time.

“The type of training he has done would prepare him well for May 24..

“If he can get the Commonwealth Games qualifying out of the way then there is a good chance he’ll run the May 24.”