BARCELONA -- For Clarance (Nicky) Saunders, returning to the top level of world high jump is all in the mind.

Saunders has been counted out more times than Mike Tyson's former sparring partners.

And considering his highest jump since winning the Commonwealth Games gold medal in 1990 is a mere seven feet, one-and-a-half inches, the list of doubters has grown. So much so that his name was thrown around when the Bermuda Olympic Association received an ultimatum to cut the team.

Saunders draws inspiration from his 7'11 '' clearance, which came in Spain a week ago, simply because it is the second highest he has ever jumped in training. His two competition jumps in Europe were 7'1 '' in Stockholm, Sweden, and Salamanca, Spain.

So, what has happened to the Nicky who became a national here when he cleared 7'9'' in Auckland, New Zealand, two Januarys ago? "The injuries are still there, they are just not as severe as they were,'' he said. "At the end of the season I am hoping to have surgery on both knees.

I've consulted physicians already and they said for this year don't worry about it because with the Games coming on it didn't make any sense.'' "So after the Games are done I'll get it done, if I can afford it. Well, I'll get one done at least. Other than that I'm in great shape, the best shape of my life; and for all the doubters, wait and see.'' Saunders' confident mood can be attributed to therapy his Dutch coach initiated after his most recent dry spell.

"I think I can win, actually I know I can win,'' he added. "I have all the physical components to break the world record but it was just the mental attitude that I couldn't get together no matter how much I tried.

With Saunders' track record it would appear difficult to forget past glories and what made them possible, but the 29-year-old was caught up in a situation where something had to give.

"It started to become more of a job than a love and that's when the performances went down because I had to survive and financially it's hard if you don't have any income coming in.

"The sponsorships you get around town are great but it's not enough. So you see it is a job where you say, `Maybe I could get some more sponsorship if I could compete that much better and then you end up making it worse because you concentrate so much more on the money aspect of it instead of the fun. The fun leads to everything, it gives you everything there is to have from track and field.'' For those who have followed Saunders closely, his greatest triumphs have come at unexpected times, when injury or bad form affected his build-up. But he responded by placing fifth at the last Olympics in Seoul and we all know about the Commonwealth Games.

Meanwhile, sprinter Dawnette Douglas pulls no punches when she advises fans back home not to expect much when she makes her Olympic debut in the Estadi Olympic next Friday.

"I wish sometimes I can just run unattached,'' said Douglas, who turned 21 on Tuesday. "I don't like running for the country because they just like to say, `Oh, what did you go there and do'.

Douglas' uneasiness stems from her earlier years when her progress was stunted in the junior programme. Gerry Swan is the national coach here, but Douglas added: "I only have one coach (Neville Hodge who is here running for the US Virgin Islands) and he has given me a programme and Gerry executes it.'' Douglas, Bermuda's first female Olympic sprinter since Debbie Jones in Montreal in 1976, made a celebrated return to the Island last month after being named to the team.

But lack of conditioning showed in the national championships 100 metres when she finished third behind Americans Crystal Braddock and Natasha Alleyne in a slow 12.11. She came back to place second in the 200 metres in 24.42 with Braddock again her conqueror.

Douglas qualified for the Games with a run of 11.46 at the Penn Relays, yet she is hoping that her heavy schedule during that successful stretch in the spring months will not hamper her here.

She said: "I hope that I don't burn-out. I heard about it but I just couldn't understand it. I ran a lot in April, every weekend. We had our conference championships and I must have run 10 times or more.'' CLARANCE (NICKY) SAUNDERS -- Can be recapture the form that brought him Commonwealth gold?