Swimmer Logan Watson-Brown is putting her injury nightmare behind her as she prepares to take the plunge for Bermuda in the World Short Course Championships.

Watson-Brown is representing the island alongside Elijah Daley and Sam Williamson in Budapest, and making the team represents the target of a goal the 21-year-old thought she would never reach after she suffered a serious shoulder injury a couple of years ago.

“I’m very excited as this is my first big meet for Bermuda,” Watson-Brown said.

“I’ve had some really bad shoulder issues so that has put a little dent in my swimming career.

“It slowed everything down and at some points I didn’t think these big meets would be possible or continuing to swim was going to be an option for me. But I just kept trying to push, saw a lot of doctors to figure out what was going on and tried to get some answers.

“I kept a very positive mind and kept going because I wanted to reach my goals. Once everything started to settle with my shoulder, I kept my focus and saw that the goals were still attainable and I was able to get there.

“I just feel honoured and really excited to be able to race at such a high level with these athletes that I’ve watched, admired and been an inspiration to me for years.”

A senior at the University of Georgia, Watson-Brown competes in the 100 metres backstroke on Tuesday and the 200 freestyle on Friday, and she expects the nerves to come as she prepares to race.

“Anything that happens in Budapest is fine as I am just happy and grateful to be there,” she said.

“Before my race I’ll definitely be nervous but I normally work well under pressure and nerves, so they will help me do well.

“A best time would be amazing and I would love to have that but going for the experience this year is really what I’m excited for.”

Teenager Elijah Daley is competing in the 100 and 200 metres butterfly, with his events taking place on Thursday and Friday.

The 18-year-old has taken a gap year and moved from Toronto to Montreal to work with a new coach as he takes time out from his studies and commits to full-time training for 12 months.

“My new programme is a lot more intense,” Daley said. “My endurance has grown a lot since September and my technical details, my turns and dives have started to improve, so I’m excited to be here and be able to implement what I’ve learnt.

“There was nothing missing as such but I’m getting older and I wanted to be with a reputable coach who has good results and I wanted to try something new to maximise my potential.

“Going into next year I do have some college options of where I want to go and I’ll make a decision.

“As for now, it fills me with pride to represent my country and it’s great to have the chance to swim for Bermuda. I’m going to do my best and try to make my country proud.”

Sam Williamson is the only one of the three swimmers to have the experience of a major competition after taking part in the Pan American Games in Chile last year and he is confident that he will handle the nerves better this time around.

“I’ve always been nervous and growing up I have learnt to deal with them better,” Williamson said.

“But the Pan Am Games was a completely different experience and I’d never felt that nervous before. Just being able to have that as a learning experience should make this a lot different and I’ll be more excited and just a little less nervous.

“I really took Chile as a learning curve and to get the pressure and the nerves of representing Bermuda internationally for the first time out of the way. I know the guys who I am racing and I think I’ll handle it a lot better this time.”

Williamson competes in the 200 metres individual medley on Tuesday and the 400 individual medley on Saturday and is hoping to produce his best on one of his sport’s biggest stages.

“I’m super pleased to be here and it was a goal of mine before the start of the season to qualify for the championships, so I’m really happy that I did and that I’m here,” he said.

“I would love to do a best time on the world stage and if I do that it would also be a Bermuda record. I would love to have that on the scoresheet, setting a Bermuda record at a world championships.

“I want to gain some more international experience and try to swim my best. I’m feeling good in the water at the moment. I raced in a university competition in mid-November and I set a PB and broke the Bermuda record in the 200 IM.

“That was very positive and I also had a good swim in the 400, just off my best. That was positive to see early on as I was aiming at worlds for this cycle, so I’m really excited to see what I can do here.”