British Columbia this August it won't be to defend his high jump title.

Unable to shake the discomfort resulting from surgery on both knees, Saunders has instead decided to attempt to qualify for the 400 metres hurdles.

The new event calls for less stress on his aching knees and now both the athlete and national coach Gerry Swan believe adjustments can be made quickly so that he can meet the qualifying deadline of July 18.

"I expect within the next few weeks Nicky will meet the standard for Commonwealth Games in the 400 metres hurdles. I'm really that optimistic,'' said coach Swan this week.

In 1990, Saunders became Bermuda's most successful athlete when he won the gold medal in Auckland, New Zealand. His leap of seven feet eight and a half inches not only landed him first place, but was a record for the Commonwealth Games.

Although it was a bitter pill to swallow when the decision was made to abandon his quest to defend the high jump title this year, Saunders is determined to make a success out of his new event.

Both he and Swan were encouraged by the athlete's performance in his first competitive race last week when he turned in an impressive time of 52.5 seconds, just outside the qualifying time of 52.30.

Already this month he has run a creditable 53.8 and the pair believe that with further hard work the times can be trimmed enough for him to earn a spot on the track and field team.

"I think his chances of qualifying for Commonwealth are good. The news of Nicky trying for the hurdles may come as a surprise to the Bermuda public but the event is certainly not completely foreign to him,'' said Swan.

"The distance is not foreign to him because Nicky has run the 400 metres for a long time, but the hurdles is rather new. It's something that he has expressed an interest in doing for a number of years.'' The big challenge for Saunders will come next week when he goes up against stiff competition at the New England Tech Championships in Boston. Also expected to make the trip are middle distance runner Jay Donawa and high jumpers Stephen Woodley and Rohaan Simons who have both already qualified for Commonwealth.

According to Swan, Saunders was working hard at the high jump but his progress was being hampered by continuous discomfort which often forced him to rest his knees for two to three days after workouts.

With time running out, a decision was eventually made by the two to abandon the high jump entirely and make an attempt at the hurdles.

"The post operative condition of Nicky's knees is such that when he went to jump during training there was a painful reaction which caused him to stop working out for a few days before he could resume,'' said Swan. "Because of the problems he was experiencing we felt that too much valuable time would be lost if things continued like that and with not a whole lot of days left for Commonwealth it was best to concentrate at qualifying for the 400 metres hurdles.'' COACHING TIP -- National track and field coach Gerry Swan (left) offers some hurdling advice to Commonwealth Games hopeful Clarance (Nicky) Saunders.