Fresh from smashing her 800 metre indoor record Tamika Williams is looking to stamp her authority on the international athletics circuit.

The Bermudian athlete, who competed for the Island at last year's Commonwealth Games, is hoping to gain entry to the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, England next month.

California-based Williams, who runs for the Nike Farm team, is certainly fired up for the challenge having clocked 2:05.8 at the University of Washington Invitational meet in Seattle last weekend.

"It was my best time indoor or outdoor," she said. "My previous time indoor was 2:06.03 which I did two weeks ago. Last year I think I ran 2:12."

Asked what the difference was between this year and last Williams said succinctly: "I am healthy."

Last season she missed a large portion of the indoor meets through injury and was still recovering when she travelled to Manchester for the Commonwealth Games.

Desperately upset she crashed out after the first heat of the 800 metres declaring: "I just want to go home".

Her hopes of qualifying for the next round were shattered when she found herself laid low when she should have been training.

As a result she came in fifth in a time of 2:06.57, five seconds behind Games record holder Maria Mutola, who won the heat.

"It was frustrating because I knew I could run a lot faster than that," said Williams.

Fortunately, she did not have too long to dwell on her performance.

"I went to Texas after that and I felt like I made up for it in terms of my placing and getting closer to my best time," she said.

After that outing Williams took some time off before going back out to train. But at first things did not go as planned.

"My coach was pretty adamant about us getting back into shape before we met up as a team again. But when I tried to do that it wasn't really possible. I still had some lingering effects from the injury so I was slower in starting up in terms of getting into the distance and getting into the work outs," she said.

"My training group was probably working out for a month before I started really doing what they were doing."

Her return to form, however, was boosted by an appearance in her homeland at International Race Weekend where she duked it out with team-mate Ashley Couper in the Front Street Mile.

"I think getting ready for that Front Street Mile helped me out because I was concentrating on doing a little more distance work where I wouldn't have done before," she said. "I think I got rid of the jitters of doing repeat miles instead of just working on the speed stuff. That has been greatest benefit as far as my running is concerned. I'm a lot more confident as far as getting out there and racing."

That certainly showed when she took to the track this month at both the Dempsey Indoor meet and the Washington Invitational, both held at the same track in Seattle.

"The meet I had two weeks ago, I was a second slower (than the new record)," she said. "And I actually thought I would have run a 2:03 or 2:04 this last weekend. But I worked really hard between the two meets and so I was tired.

"I am actually kind of excited about that because knowing I was that tired and a little broken down I know I can run a whole lot faster."

Williams' plan to appear in Birmingham is out of her hands, but as she is in such a rich vein of form she hopes the powers that be will look kindly at her request.

"I am waiting to see if the Track and Field Association will let me go to the World Championships," she said. "I didn't make the A Standard, 2:04.38, I was about half a second away from it, and so it's their decision whether they want to send me or not. I would love to go but if not I will just have to concentrate on the outdoor season."

Whatever happens Williams is confident that this could be a breakthrough year for her.

"If I am running a 2:05 indoors, calculating it, that's like 2:02 or 2:03 outdoors," she said.