On the eve of her World Swimming Championships debut, Bermuda's lone diver holds no illusions about what she is up against.

So Katura Horton-Perinchief heads to Barcelona, Spain, tomorrow hoping she performs well enough to reach the final - at best - in one of her two events: the one-metre and three-metre springboard competitions.

"It depends on the day which I'll do better on and (it also depends) on the other athletes. I am quite strong on both springboards. I'll perform to the best of my ability.

"I'm going to try and (reach the) final on one of the two boards. There's no guarantees on that because this is my first World Championship. A lot of the others have been going time and time again. Really, I'm the baby of the meet."

Realising such a goal, the US-based athlete noted, will be no mean feat.

"That would be a very high achievement. Actually the final is the top 12 so even the semi-final would be a huge for a first meet of this calibre. The top 20 is big because there are a lot of divers competing and a lot of them are Olympians."

The odds are against the 20-year-old whose training has been somewhat hampered by a year-long foot injury which has kept her more in therapy and less in the pool.

"I am suffering with a foot injury that has been going on for the past year - a broken bone in my left foot. It needs surgery but that would just set back training. So, I'm putting that off until hopefully after the Olympic Games."

Still, she is confident her all-year build-up to the Worlds will be borne out in front of the judges. Katura is opting to play it safe as far as her dives are concerned, optimistic that consistency will be her strength.

"I'm not doing any new dives so I am very comfortable with the list of dives that I will be competing in. I am very consistent (on them). They are not going to be any of the most difficult dives in the competition but, hopefully, my consistency will prevail.

"When you do a lot of harder dives there's more risk that you could miss and get low scores," she explained, speaking from Austin, Texas.

"I might be a little under-prepared because of my physical condition but mentally I'm ready to go and represent Bermuda . . . dive my best."

Facing up to the sport's top guns could bring added pressure but if Katura's reaction to the top-level competition is anything like that at last summer's Commonwealth Games in England, she will be just fine.

"I wasn't nervous at all at Commonwealth. I was so enthralled by watching everyone else dive and the spectacle," she recalled.

Something else that may work in her favour is the knowledge that if all does not go well in Spain she has a chance to make it up to herself and her fans at next month's Pan-American Games in the Dominican Republic. In this regard, she sees Worlds as a dress rehearsal for that regional meet.

"I will probably be a lot better prepared for Pan-American Games. It's later in the year and it will be much more fun and relaxed.

"A lot of people would get burnt out from doing so many competitions in a row but I've been on a break from competing since April so, with those two (events) back-to-back, Worlds will be like a practice meet for Pan-Ams.

"I am looking to do much better there though my goals are probably close to the same (for Worlds) but it will be a lot easier to attain them at the Pan-Am Games."

In recent weeks Katura has also juggled the challenge of splitting her time between summer school and diving but, when she returns from Worlds, she will be able to concentrate on training fully before heading to the Dominican Republic as classes will be over.

On that trip, she will also enjoy the comfort of having numerous members of her extended family along, including her aunt, June Dill, who will represent the Island in ten-pin bowling.