First cousins Lisa Blackburne and Tommy Sherratt will be competing in the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia next month in what will be a memorable occasion for the Maycock family ...even if it's for different countries.

Unfortunately the pair will not both be competing for Bermuda, as Blackburn, a 26-year-old swimmer, has been deemed ineligible to represent her birthplace because she holds dual citizenship and has represented Canada.

No doubt the loyalty of sisters Marian Sherratt and Sheila Blackburn of Canada and grandmother Ivy Maycock will be split between the two countries when Lisa goes for gold in the pool and Tommy, 20, chases glory on the squash courts.

"It will be a real family affair,'' said Roger Sherratt who will act as manager/coach of the squash team which includes his son.

"I'm just hoping there are no Bermudian women in the ladies breaststroke,'' Sherratt joked.

"She just missed out on the Olympic Games by a 100th of a second -- they send the top two and she came third -- so I understand she's very, very excited about being picked for the Commonwealth.

"She's old by swimming standards and usually you don't maintain your peak at that age but she does train very, very hard and is a very dedicated swimmer.

I'm sure she'll be over the moon that she made it for Canada.'' According to FINA, the governing body of swimming, Blackburn's sport nationality was Canadian as she did represent Canada internationally several years ago when she swam for them in an under-23 meet in Sweden.

It was Blackburn's desire to represent Bermuda at the Commonwealth Games as she still returns home regularly.

But, having resided in Canada for the last 23 years, she was told that in order to qualify for Bermuda she would have to reside in Bermuda for a minimum of 12 months prior to the Games.

Having invested in her development, Canadian swimming officials have been taking notice of her times since she returned to the pool in what will be two years ago come the Commonwealth Games.

After just failing to qualify for the 1992 Olympics, Blackburn walked away from the sport in 1994 for two years while she finished her Human Kinetics degree at the University of Ottawa and went to teacher's college.

But it was after trying her hand at coaching that the desire to be competitive again returned and she made a big splash when she entered the water again in 1996.

Blackburn's spot on the Canada team was confirmed just last week after a string of outstanding performances which began last August when she finished fourth and sixth at the Canadian National championships in Edmonton, Alberta.

Less than a week after that she was setting 11 national records in three days at the Harbour Open championships in Bermuda. That performance left Blackburn, and BASA swimming officials too, dreaming of the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia but developments since then have pushed her closer towards Canadian representation.

"I'm really excited about being a part of the Canadian team, about representing my country,'' Blackburn told a reporter at the Ottawa Sun a week ago.

At 26, Blackburn knows there are not many years left at the top, so she is no doubt grabbing her chances now. She will compete in the 100 metres breakstroke, alongside 20-year-old Lauren van Oosten, the Canadian record holder and Courtney Chuy who, at a mere 13, is half Blackburn's age.

They were first and second at the recent Maritime Nationals in Toronto while Blackburn was third with a time of 1:11.06 which was her fastest-ever time.

She was just over a second slower than van Oosten.

Blackburn is in Vancouver in training with the Canada team in final preparations for Malaysia when Blackburn will be aiming to reach the final against the likes of 1996 Olympic champion Penny Heyns of South Africa.

"There is a lot to be said for the maturity an athlete can bring to a sport at that age,'' said Jeff Slater, a coach at Nepean Kanata Barracudas where Blackburn has been coaching youngsters.

"It's great to have that sort of role model around.''