Four years ago Ronald Cowen was all set for the Commonwealth Games - then disaster struck. Having qualified for the Bermuda swim team for the trek to Malaysia in 1998, Cowen suffered a broken leg in a road traffic accident. His dream was over.

Now four years on and with eight years of frustration inside of him fighting to get out, the 21-year-old takes to the pool at the Games in Manchester.

Tomorrow he takes part in heat one of the 200 metres freestyle at the Manchester Aquatics Centre. And although he will have one of the best swimmers in the world in his heat in Australia's Grant Hackett, his coach Kathy Cowen and team Bermuda's assistant coach believes he can make it through to a semi-final and if not in this event, then in one of the others in his Games schedule.

Recalling the incident prior to the Kuala Lumpur Games, she said: "He qualified and within a week drove his bike into the back of a taxi, so he missed Commonwealth four years ago."

As a result Cowen said it meant a lot to him to perform well here in England.

"He has been to Worlds and he has been to Pan-Ams and, of course, he does the Central American Games and Caribbean Games but Commonwealth was his first major international competition," she said.

"When he missed that it meant that this is something he has waited for for eight years."

Probably because of what has gone, or rather not gone, before Cowen said she had had some difficulty keeping him from over-performing in training.

"He has a real hard time not to work," she said, admitting the week's wait since the start of the Games had not helped. "It's a struggle for Ronald not to work. Every time he goes into the pool he thinks he has to work. Having said that he has settled in nicely and I am hoping that the kids can do very well.

"There is a possibility here that Ronald could see a semi. Realistically, the chances of finals are slim."

That was in part due to the number of swimmers the 72 nations can enter.

"Each country can swim three swimmers. At some of the big Games you can only swim two. That limits the field. But in this case if you have three Australians, three Canadians and three English that's nine there and you are already one outside of a final," she said.

"Then of course there are really good swimmers from a lot of the smaller countries."

But Cowen said the only way to be the best was to compete against the best.

"It will a brilliant experience for them," said Cowen, who noted Kiera Aitken was already celebrating.

"Kiera set her goal for the Commonwealth Games four years ago," she said. "She has worked four years for this and she has achieved her goal."

Cowen goes off at 7.42 a.m.Bermuda time tomorrow and as previously mentioned goes up against Hackett in heat two.

Hackett's biography in the Games Press Centre runs to no less than three pages. The 22-year-old, from the Gold Coast, lists among many other titles the 1500m freestyle gold at the last Games in Malaysia four years ago. In the 200m he has a personal best of 1.46.67, set this season.

However, Cowen's swim times are on the upslide and he will be confident of bettering his own season best time of 1.57.

Cowen is in lane two tomorrow, while Hackett will go from lane four. Also in the heat are Colin Bensadon, of Gibraltar, David Carry, of Scotland, England's Jamie Salter, David Davies of Wales and Barnsley Albert of the Seychelles.

However, the first Bermudian into the water was Roy-Allan Burch who was due to compete in the men's 50m backstroke at 6.26 a.m. Bermuda time today.

Burch was in heat two against Jean Francois Wai Choon of Mauritius, Kabir Walia of Kenya, Mohammed Rubel Rana of Bangladesh, Jamie Zammitt of Gibraltar and Nigeria's Folahan Oluwole.

Aitken starts her challenge tomorAitken starts her challenge tomorrrow in the women's 100m backstroke at 6.19 a.m. Bermuda time. She features in heat two and will start in lane two against Kiran Khan of Pakistan, Hannah McLean of New Zealand, Zimbabwe's Kirsty Leigh Coventry, Australia's Clementine Stoney, Kelly Stefanshyn of Canada and Antri Hadjiantoniou of Cyprus.

Shortly after at 6.35 a.m. she takes part in the women's 100m freestyle.

In lane eight, she will have opponents from Jamaica, Singapore, Canada, England, Australia, Barbados and Fiji.

Bermuda's fourth swimmer, Graham Smith is also in action, in the men's 100m breaststroke at 6.35 a.m.. He will have to fight off home rival Darren Mew, Travano McPhee of the Bahamas, Regan Harrison of Australia, Brett Peterson of South Africa, John Stamhuis of Canada and Gibraltar's Zammitt.

The Island's team have more events to come over coming days, finishing their visit to the Games on Saturday.