For Oliver, the mission is clearly stated

David Oliver (front) of the U.S. competes in the men's 110 meters hurdles final at the 2010 Colorful Daegu Pre-Championships Meeting in Daegu, southeast of Seoul, May 19, 2010.

EUGENE, Oregon (Reuters) - The words at the top of Olympic hurdles bronze medalist David Oliver's website boldly state his objective.

"MISSION 12.85," it says in bright lime green. "The race for the record," the site (here) adds by way of explanation.

Cuban Dayron Robles has held the 110 meters hurdles world record of 12.87 seconds for two years.

The chase continues on Saturday at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meeting in Eugene, one of Oliver's favorite stadiums and with the talented American in top form.

The 28-year-old skimmed to a lifetime best of 12.93 seconds at last weekend's U.S. nationals in Des Moines, Iowa. Only six men have ever run faster.

Barbados world champion Ryan Brathwaite will be in the field along with U.S. Olympic silver medalist David Payne. Robles also was invited but Cuban officials chose not to apply for the necessary visa.

A strained calf muscle kept Oliver from meeting Brathwaite in the 2009 worlds.

"When you chase times, you rarely ever succeed," Oliver said in a telephone interview with Reuters.

"(But) I really do think that it (the record) is possible," he said.

"When I ran 12.9 in '08 I was like chasing somebody down," Oliver said. "I would get out slow and have to chase people."

Now, thanks to constant work with coach Brooks Johnson, the start has improved.

"I didn't have the greatest of starts (at the national championships) but that's the beauty of outdoor 110 meters hurdling," Oliver said.

"If you make a slight mistake you have still a 100 meters to be able to do something about it."

He did, recovering nicely after the first three hurdles.

Five seasons of hard work have elevated Oliver from a peripheral player to an elite performer.

Only the strained calf muscle in 2009 and a leg injury in 2007 held him back.

"If I had run healthy last year I think I would have had the same progress of times that I am running now," said Oliver who was America's fastest in 2009 before his calf injury.

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina, editing by Ed Osmond)