Ideally built for the demanding rigours of track and middle distance running, 17-year-old CedarBridge Academy student Tiffany Eatherley believes she has what it takes to compete with the best.

Having recently returned to the fore with a determined sprint finish to win the under-18 girls Front Street Mile, pipping defending champion Flora Duffy in the process, Eatherley is now preparing for the upcoming Carifta Games in Nassau, Bahamas in March.

And she has set her heart on a medal, having narrowly missed out a year ago after struggling with a muscle strain which she suffered while training in the Bahamas.

With several local victories on the road and track under her belt, Eatherley's determined to emulate that success overseas.

Last year at Carifta her hopes were dashed when she was overtaken near the finish line to place fourth in the under-18, 800 metres.

But her consolation was a personal best time of two minutes, 16.2 seconds, on which she now wants to improve.

The teenager saw her times come down after accepting an invitation to travel to the Adidas Running Camp in Raleigh, North Carolina in 2000, as prize for winning the KPMG Junior Race Series.

However, her fledgling career came to a halt when she was injured in a road accident and forced to withdraw from the World Junior Championships in Hungary in 2001 after qualifying.

Since then the teenager has steadily recovered and was the second local girl to cross the line during the Central American and Caribbean Cross Country Championships held on local soil back in November.

"During my trip to Raleigh, I had the opportunity to meet quite a lot of interesting people associated with running," said the teenager.

"I also picked up a lot of tips that I'm hoping will bode well for the future. I want to compete with the world's elite during the 2008 Olympics."

Under the watchful eye of national track coach Gerry Swan, Eatherley recently recorded a time some seven seconds inside the qualifying mark for the CARIFTA under-20 1500 metres. She also hopes to compete in the 800 and 400 metre races.

More ambitiously, she has one eye on this year's Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England in July.

"Presently, I am conditioning myself and focusing on the CARIFTA Games," said Eatherley. "I'm really looking forward to them."