When the going gets tough, Brian Wellman and Troy Douglas get going.

And this morning the two Bermudians will put their reputations as money players on the line when they see their first action of the 1997 World Track and Field Championships, currently underway in Athens.

Wellman, who won a silver medal in the triple jump at the previous worlds two years ago, and Douglas, who was fourth in the 200 metres at the world indoor championships in February, are international veterans who traditionally shine in high-profile competition.

But they'll have their work cut out for them.

The qualifying round for the triple jump is at 8.15 a.m. (Bermuda time) today with the final on Friday. Douglas, meanwhile, gets out of the blocks at 10.15 a.m. and he should advance into the second round some eight hours later.

It's after that that things get a bit fuzzy.

Douglas has raced in the semi-finals at the past two Olympics and recent form suggests there's no reason to doubt he will do the same in Athens tomorrow.

His task is made somewhat easier by the fact American gold medallist Michael Johnson is skipping the event, making Namibia's Frankie Fredericks the hot favourite.

It was uncertain yesterday if Maurice Greene, the surprise 100 metre champion, would attempt the double.

A succession of minor injuries have plagued Wellman ever since his breakthrough at the 1995 championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, the latest a rib ailment.

That and inflamed bunions which caused him to withdraw from the world indoors -- the first time this decade he has yet to make a final -- have limited his competition in the run-up for the meet.

Still, national track and field coach Gerry Swan is confident that Wellman can not only win a medal in Friday's final, but also go over 18 metres and 60 feet.

Only one other triple jumper has surpassed that mark -- and Jonathan Edwards figures to be just one of a host of challengers to Wellman this week.

At the 1995 championships, Edwards stole Wellman's glory by putting on one of history's most scintillating individual performances in any event. He shattered the world record on his first attempt by soaring 18.16 (59-7). On his very next jump, he pushed the mark farther to the still-standing standard of 18.29 (60-1 ).

Those efforts enabled Edwards to better the record he set less than a month earlier in Salamanca, Spain, where he went 17.98 (59 feet) to break Willie Banks' ten-year-old mark of 17.97 (58-111 ).

Burdened by a nagging left heel injury, the Briton hasn't been able to prepare as well as he'd wanted.

"I haven't jumped for five weeks and in that sense, I need the competition to get my confidence back,'' he said yesterday. "In some respects, tomorrow will be a little bit of a step in the dark.'' Despite his lay-off, Edwards does hold the longest effort of the season -- the 17.74 metres (58 feet, 21 inches) he produced at the European Cup in Munich on June 22, the same meet he initially hurt himself.

He aggravated the injury to his launching foot in Sheffield, England, one week later and missed the British team trials, but was given a wild card to defend his world title.

The top challenge should come from Kenny Harrison, the American who beat Edwards for Olympic gold at Atlanta but whose top effort this season -- 17.51 (57-51 ) in Oslo on July 4 -- is just fifth on the world list. Then there are a trio of Cubans, including Joel Garcia, who nipped Wellman for the silver at the Caribbean and Central American championships in June. Wellman's best jump was a 17.03.

"At our best, Kenny and I are a reasonable bit ahead of the rest of the world,'' said Edwards.

BRIAN WELLMAN -- bids for a place in Friday's final of the triple jump in today's qualifying heats at the World Track and Field Championships in Athens, Greece.