Kiera Aitken has been tipped to shine at next week's CAC Games by national coach Ben Smith who considers Bermuda's golden girl as the best chance of a medal.

The Female Athlete of the Year was in scintillating form at the recent Caribbean Island Swimming Championships (CISC), snatching an impressive four gold medals and one bronze.

And Smith is now hoping Aitken, who has already qualified for next year's World Championships, can continue her rich vein of form into the CAC swimming events which start on Sunday in Puerto Rico.

"What Kiera has been showing recently all over the world gives you a pretty good feeling she could definitely perform at the medal level," said Smith.

"We went to the CISC Championships as a tune-up competition for the games and did quite a bit of training in Florida leading into that.

"We've had a good group of senior swimmers come through over the last few years, many of them elite athletes. Most have medalled recently and the hope is they can perform when we get down there."

Joining backstroke ace Aitken in Team Bermuda will be fellow Olympian Roy-Allan Burch (50m, 100m freestyle, 50m backstoke and 50m butterfly), ex-Pam Am Games medallist Lisa Blackburn (breastroke, individual medley), as well as up and coming youngsters Rebecca Sharpe (backstroke), Julian Fletcher (breastroke) and Florida State student Nick Thomson (50m, 100m freestyle).

Although Blackburn may be an unfamiliar name to many on the Island she is no stranger to making the headlines at major competitions having medalled at some of the most prestigious events in the world while representing Canada.

She also claimed three gold and a silver medal at the CISC Championships in Cuba earlier this month.

Smith believes Blackburn's extra know-how at the elite level can rub off on her younger team-mates. "(Lisa) brings a level of experience to the team and that's important and helpful to the other guys," he said. "She's been to the highest point and performed at that level."

All six athletes are more than capable of reaching the finals in their main events said Smith, who will be accompanied by team manager Sue Sharpe in Mayagüez.

"The first step is to see if we can get into the finals," he said. "I believe each swimmer has the potential to final in each of their main events.

"From that point it's all about who gets to the wall first. There are some swimmers within our region that were finalists at the World Championships last year, so we'll be up against some real good quality."

Bermuda will be represented by their largest ever team at the CAC Games.

The Island is sending 60 athletes to compete in athletics, boxing, bowling, gymnastics, swimming, hockey, shooting, sailing, tennis and triathlon.