Troy Douglas has run his last race for Bermuda.

In a stunning blow to the Island's medal hopes at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, the three-time Olympic semi-finalist confirmed yesterday that he has applied for his release from the Bermuda Track and Field Association in order to represent the Netherlands next year.

"I'm just playing the waiting game right now,'' Douglas said by telephone from Holland, where he has lived and trained for the past three years.

The BTFA are believed to have approved the request and relayed his release to the International Amateur Athletics Federation, which will then clear the way for Douglas to wear Netherlands colours in the European Championships on March 1 in Valencia, Spain.

Neither BTFA president Judith Simmons nor national coach Gerry Swan returned telephoned messages left yesterday.

But Douglas vowed never to represent the Island again, saying his decision was all about future plans -- and current income.

"I have to do what's best for Troy,'' he said.

At age 35, Douglas is coming off perhaps his finest season, setting a personal best and resetting his national record of 20.30 seconds in the 200 metres at a Grand Prix event in Brussels. He missed the final of the World Championships in Athens by .01 seconds, two weeks after earning a bronze medal in the CAC Championships. In the World Indoor Championships in March, he was fourth after finishing second two years earlier.

"I've weighed the pros and cons and talked about it with my wife. And the best place for me to stay is in the Netherlands,'' he said. "I'd be a fool not to take advantage of it.'' In Holland, Douglas said he would receive funding from the Dutch Athletic Federation, has greater sponsorship opportunities and has coaching courses paid through a scholarship. His wife of less than three months, Kyra, is Dutch, and he is already coaching two days a week in a start to his post-competition career.

In contrast, Douglas says he receives $1,000 per month -- paid quarterly -- from the Bermuda Olympic Association, which oversees the Island's elite athletes. That amount, he said, barely covers the cost of travel, medical treatment, training supplements and other expenses.

"I've been scraping and scrounging with the money I've been given (and) I can't take it anymore,'' he said.

"It comes down to lack of respect for world class athletes. Bermuda has done a poor job supporting the athletes that have helped put this Island on the map. I've been lacking, lacking, lacking as long as I can.'' BOA president Austin Woods called Douglas' decision "unfortunate'' but disagreed with his claims of poverty. Douglas, he pointed out, has benefited from a sponsorship deal from Belco for the past four years and also competes successfully on the lucrative European circuit.

"He is making funds externally and we have no idea what they are ... We have never asked for a declaration from him,'' Woods said. In addition, the BOA recently increased the monthly allowance to him, as well as to triple jumper Brian Wellman, at the behest of the BTFA, Woods said.

"Based on the amount made available through Government, I would say the funds he receives are both fair and equitable,'' said Woods.

Douglas praised Simmons for taking his fight to the BOA, saying that if "she was president (of the BTFA) ten years ago, this never would have happened.'' Douglas added that he was not turning his back on Bermuda -- "If people ask, I'm still Troy Douglas from Bermuda'' -- and hopes to retain a connection with the Island as a coach of young Dutch runners.

While it is too late to change his mind, Douglas said he hoped the BOA would continue to provide more money to elite athletes so that young Bermudian athletes had more "incentive'' to take up track and field.

As for his own career, Douglas, ranked number two in Europe, plans on running for no more than two years. He will head to Aruba for warm-weather training in January before the start of the indoor season in February.

"I'm feeling better than I ever have,'' he said. "I feel like I'm 25 or 26-years-old. I feel fantastic.'' He already coaches 17 young runners with the Amsterdam Athletic Club, an increase of 10 in the past few months.

"My plans are big and broad,'' he said. "I have the athletes here and now I have the budget so I can really do something.'' "Life is comfortable here and, looking ahead 20 or 30 years, I have to take advantage of the opportunities for me.'' RUNNING AWAY -- Troy Douglas' Island jersey will soon be replaced by that of the Netherlands if the sprinter has his way.