He will be at the World Championships but his mind will be on another stellar competition - the Olympics.

As he strokes his way through the pool at the Worlds in Barcelona, Spain, Ronald Cowen will be propelled by a single motive: attaining the standards for next summer's Olympiad in Athens, Greece.

The Bermudian swimmer may compete in as many as five events but he is pinning his hopes on two particular races.

"To qualify for Olympics is my only real goal at this point. Once I do that I'll be quite happy . . . mainly in the 100 and 200 (metres) freestyle. The 400 (freestyle) is a bit of a long shot but it's possible."

As a secondary objective, he also fancies seeing "myself in the top 16 in the 200 free(style)".

Depending on the competition format, such an accomplishment could land him in the consolation final.

Cowen, who will be participating in his second World Championships, is banking on his traditionally strong finish to bring him success and believes he is well prepared for the challenging assignment.

Upbeat about his training, the 22-year-old said he has been swimming "what I thought I needed to be swimming" in recent weeks despite the drawback of not having a long-course pool in which to train on the Island.

However, since he has been using one all year long at his base in Fort Worth, Texas, a few weeks out of a long-course facility at this stage will not affect him, he noted.

He was equally unruffled regarding the stiff competition he faces at Worlds, including Australian wonder, Ian (Thorpedo) Thorpe.

"You get better prepared with everywhere you go, whether it's physically, mentally, stroke-wise. Each year that goes by, even if I don't go to a major meet, every time I step on the blocks I am always better prepared than the time before.

"Training in the USA you always have big names like Michael Phelps and Josh Davis swimming next to you. So when you think about the World Championships, it's just that there's going to be more big guns.

"What everyone else does and who is next to me doesn't bother me. They are only human," said a candid Cowen, also slated to race the 50-metre freestyle and possibly the 100-metre butterfly.

As he gets ready to fly to Europe tomorrow, the ice-cool Bermudian is looking forward to his second experience at this level, anticipating he will be more relaxed and enjoy it better than he did his first Worlds.

"I know a lot more people on the world circuit and I'll have my coach (his mother Kathy Cowen) there. It makes all the difference when you have people you know around.

"The last time I went to Worlds I didn't know anyone outside of the Bermuda team. Now I know people from Italy, Australia, the USA, Canada, England, all over. You like to know who is out there and the longer you're on the circuit the more people you meet," said Cowen whose campaign begins on July 20 in the 400 metres freestyle.