Great Britain 400 metre hurdler Natasha Danvers-Smith has her sights set firmly on next year's Olympic Games in Beijing after making an encouraging return to top-level competition at the World Championships this week.

The 2000 Olympic finalist disappointingly finished last in Thursday's final, but the 29-year-old stepped off the Nagai Stadium track brimming with confidence and excitement after posting 54.08 seconds in her semi-final, just 0.6secs shy of her lifetime best.

Danvers-Smith's personal best 54.02 was set in 2003 before she took a two-year break following the birth of her son.

The UK champion's preparations for the World Championships in Osaka were not ideal after an Achilles injury suffered in March was left undiagnosed for eight week, but yesterday's final appearance looks to be the start of better things to come from a determined Commonwealth Games silver medallist.

"I have got that Olympics ingrained in my head right now," she said after clocking 54.94 in a final won by the wife of former Great Britain 400m hurdler Chris Rawlinson, Australia's Jana Rawlinson.

"Sometimes I would even forget I was training for these championships because my mind is so switched on to 2008 especially after missing it last time through being pregnant so I am very eager to get back because I am as good as anybody out here and is it just about getting it out at the right time.

"I just have to get all the elements together at the right time, I do not have a doubt that I have the ability or the talent to do exactly what is being done by the top three runners."

Danvers-Smith is currently based in Los Angeles, but is now considering a return to the UK as she looks to put her career back on track.

The decision was prompted by Danvers-Smith's recent two-month wait for an MRI to diagnose an Achilles problem, as she is not offered the same level of medical care in America as she would be at home.

After recovering from the injury, Danvers-Smith posted 53.42 in a 400m flat race in Eagle Rock, California, in May, which is close to her personal best 53.26.

"I have had an Achilles problem and it is one of the downsides of being in the States is that I don't' have the instant access to medical staff. I have issues here and they have been treated before I can even blink, so it has been fine," added Danvers-Smith.

"But when I was out there we did not know what is was and after three weeks I started to get a bit worried.

"Then I started to try to get an MRI but with the American system you have to go through a doctor and by the time it got approved it was eight weeks later.

"I then had to try to race into shape, which wasn't working as you could see at the beginning of the season, so then I just stopped and trained through all the races.

"I am definitely considering training in Britain next season because it is a lot easier with all the things that are provided through the lottery and all the sponsors that we have which we don't have in the States."