Bermuda heptathlete Shianne Smith has been taking tips from US champion Sharon Day as she looks to set a new personal best at the Pan Am Games.This month’s Games, held in Guadalajara, Mexico, will be the biggest international competition the California-based athlete has competed for Bermuda.As part of her preparations, the 25-year-old has been training alongside Beijing Olympian Day who she said had inspired her to raise her performance to another level.Day, 26, captured her first career heptathlon USA championship with victory at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Oregon last summer.“The Games will be my season opener and I have been putting the hard work in,” said former Cal State University student Smith.“My training partner is Sharon Day who recently won the US Championships. Training alongside someone of her calibre certainly helps.”Smith, who now coaches Claremont-Mudd-Scripps athletes in ‘the Golden State’, admits the Pan Am Games will represent the greatest challenge of her career.But she is confident of giving a good account of herself and is excited about the prospect of testing herself against some of the best heptathletes in the world.“Obviously I set myself targets and goals ahead of any event,” she said.“I will definitely be my biggest competition to date and it’s an exciting time for me; I think I’ll definitely be able to PB. I just want to stay fit and in good shape going into the Games.”Smith scooped two medals for Bermuda at the Island Games in the Isle of Wight last summer, claiming silver in the women’s 100 metre hurdles in a time of 15.14 seconds, and bronze in the women’s shot putt with a throw of 11m.She also smashed the 100m hurdle record and set a personal best in the shot put on her way to claiming the open girls title at the National Championships in June.In the absence of long jumpers Tyrone Smith, Arantxa King, Jasmine Brunson, who have withdrawn from the Games, and the injured Aaron Evans, the only track and field athletes representing Bermuda will be Smith and sprinter Tre Houston.It’s believed many of athletes from around the region have decided to skip the Pan Ams, which are taking place during the track and field offseason, and focus their preparations on next year’s London Olympics instead.