the Olympic medal table than in these Centennial Games which will finally be launched amid a glittering opening ceremony tonight.

Triple jumper Brian Wellman, perhaps the most accomplished athlete the Island has ever produced, will attempt to go one better than his electrifying silver medal performance at the World Outdoor Athletic Championships in Gothenburg a year ago, while Star class sailor Peter Bromby and crew Lee White, are now regarded by their rivals as genuine medal contenders.

This year's Games team numbers just nine compared to the 20 who travelled to Barcelona four years ago and the dozen who represented Bermuda at Seoul in 1988.

But there's some merit to Bermuda Olympic Association president Austin Woods' contention that this is a team where the accent has been firmly placed on quality rather than quantity. Never have qualifying standards been tougher as the Olympic organising committee grappled with the prospect of entertaining 10,000 athletes from a record 197 countries, nor selection by the BOA more rigid.

And while Bermuda's hopes will be pinned on Wellman and Bromby/White, the rest of the team will be keen to prove they belong in what Atlanta is touting as the world's greatest sporting festival.

PETER BROMBY AGE: 31 EVENT: Star class sailing (two-person keelboat), skipper VENUE: Wassaw Sound, Savannah WHEN: Monday, July 22 (races one and two); Tuesday, July 23 (races three and four); Wednesday, July 24 (races five and six); Thursday, July 25 (races seven and eight); Saturday, July 27 (races nine and 10); Monday, July 29 (final race) CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Three IOD world championships; 19th, Olympics, Barcelona, Star class, 1992; Second in European Star Championships, Germany, 1994; Can-Am champion, Star class, Miami, 1995; Fifth, Pan-Am Games, J24s, Argentina, 1995 Three world IOD championships and a cupboard full of trophies from all corners of the globe -- Bermuda's star class tandem would gladly swap them all for success on the waters of Wassaw Sound next week.

From bake sales to selling Christmas trees, Bromby and White have, for the past four years, done whatever was necessary to finance their pursuit of Olympic glory, one that now rests on a series of 11 races in which their painstaking preparation will finally be put to the test.

Nobody doubts the Bermudian pair's ability. There's a not a crew in Savannah they haven't beaten at one time or another, nor conditions they haven't encountered.

Yet such is the quality of the fleet, as many as a dozen crews are seen as viable medal contenders.

Bromby and White appreciate the importance of a solid start and will be anxious to make their presence felt from the first two races next Monday. If they can achieve that, the stage will be set for a genuine shot at Bermuda's first Olympic sailing medal -- 40 years after the Island's sailors made their Games debut in Melbourne.

LEE WHITE AGE: 38 EVENT: Star class sailing (two-person keelboat), crew VENUE: Wassaw Sound, Savannah WHEN: Monday, July 22 (races one and two); Tuesday, July 23 (races three and four); Wednesday, July 24 (races five and six); Thursday, July 25 (races seven and eight); Saturday, July 27 (races nine and 10); Monday, July 29 (final race) CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Three IOD world championships; 19th, Olympics, Barcelona, Star class, 1992; Second in European Star Championships, Germany, 1994; Can-Am champion, Star class, Miami, 1995; Fifth, Pan-Am Games, J24s, Argentina, 1995 PAULA LEWIN AGE: 25 EVENT: Europe class sailing VENUE: Wassaw Sound, Savannah WHEN: Monday, July 22 (races one and two); Tuesday, July 23 (races two and three); Wednesday, July 24 (races five and six); Thursday, July 25 (races seven and eight); Monday, July 29 (races nine and 10); Wednesday, July 31 (final race) CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Bronze medal, Europe class, Pan-Am Games, Argentina, 1995; Fourth, Goodwill Games, St.Petersburg, Russia, 1994; Third US Mid Winters Championships, 1996; Women's Intercollegiate National Champion, Maryland, 1993; Winner, Turkey Bowl Regatta, Los Angeles, 1995 A gutsy competitor, Paula Lewin might just be the dark horse of Bermuda's Olympic contingent.

A third-place finish in the Europe dinghy class at the Pan-Ams last year gave Bermuda their only medal and a hectic schedule since which has taken the 1993 Women's Intercollegiate champion to regattas around Europe and North America has seen her claim a number of notable scalps. Confident she can now match beats with the best, Lewin has been honing her skills for several weeks on the Olympic course. Win or lose, nobody will be able to accuse her of lacking preparation.

MALCOLM SMITH AGE: 37 EVENT: Laser class sailing VENUE Wassaw Sound, Savannah WHEN: Monday, July 22 (races one and two); Tuesday, July 23 (races three and four); Wednesday, July 24 (races five and six); Thursday, July 25 (races seven and eight); Monday, July 29 (races nine and 10); Wednesday, July 31 (final race) CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Sunfish world champion, 1994 (second in 1993 and third in 1992); Gold medal, Marblehead Olympic classes regatta, 1994; Bronze medal, CAC Games, 1990; Six-time Bermuda Sunfish champion, five-time Bermuda Laser champion Laser sailor Malcolm Smith struggled in the wild and windy conditions off the Atlantic coast of Argentina in the Pan-Am Games last year, and hasn't done too much since to suggest he can be a factor on the waters off Savannah.

But Smith's nothing if not a competitor -- it took him 19 years to win the World Sunfish Championship -- and he's relishing his first Olympic challenge.

A champion in both the Laser and Sunfish classes in Bermuda, Smith has tasted success overseas. Conditions, he says, will be more to his liking in Georgia than they were in Argentina.

TROY DOUGLAS AGE: 33 EVENTS: 200 metres, 400 metres VENUE: Olympic Stadium WHEN: Friday, July 26 (400m round one); Saturday, July 27 (400m round two); Sunday, July 28 (400m semi-finals); Monday, July 29 (400m final). Wednesday, July 31 (200m round one and round two); Thursday, August 1 (200m semi-finals and final).

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: 200m silver medallist World Indoor Championships, Barcelona, 1995 (20.94 secs); 200m Commonwealth Games finalist, Victoria, 1994 (8th, 20.71); 200 Olympic semi-finalist, Seoul, 1988 (20.7); 400m Olympic semi-finalist, Barcelona, 1992 (45.59) Maybe the best sprinter in Bermuda history, Douglas probably doesn't get the recognition he deserves -- possibly because of a tendency to hibernate between major events. Little or nothing has been heard of his preparation for these Games, save for an impressive 20.5 clocking during victory in the 200m at a Grand Prix meet in Holland.

Outspoken on the rare occasions he speaks to the media, Douglas usually lets his feet do the talking. And they've said plenty in the last two Olympics. He reached the 200m semi-finals at Seoul in 1988 and the 400m semi-finals in Barcelona.

Unlikely to medal in Atlanta in a 200m featuring Michael Johnson, but a definite semi-final prospect.

DEVON BEAN AGE: 20 EVENTS: 100 metres, 200 metres VENUE: Olympic Stadium WHEN: Friday, July 26 (100-metre round one and round two); Saturday, July 27 (100m semi-finals and final); Wednesday, July 31 (200-metres, round one and round two); Thursday, August 1 (200m semi-finals and final) CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: 100m Carifta Games gold medallist, 1991 (10.85); 100m Southern California Junior College champion, 1995 (10.27) Bermuda's new boy on the block, Bean is the least known and probably the most unlikely of the Island's current crop of Olympians. Yet there's no disputing the 20-year-old sprinter earned his spot, clocking 10.41 and then 10.27 in a matter of weeks at meets close to his Long Beach College in California.

Bean can't hope to compete against the likes of Linford Christie, Donovan Bailey, Leroy Burrell, Aldo Bolden and the rest of the sub-10 second superstars who will gather at Olympic Stadium next week.

But this will be a learning experience -- one that hopefully will stand him in good stead come the Sydney Games in 2000.

BRIAN WELLMAN AGE: 27 EVENT: Triple jump VENUE: Olympic Stadium WHEN: Friday, July 26 (qualifying); Saturday, July 27 (finals) CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: World indoor champion, Barcelona, 1995 (58'1'', meet record, personal best); Silver medallist, World Outdoor Championships, Gothenburg, 1995 (57'9''); Bronze medallist, Commonwealth Games, Victoria, 1994; NCAA champion 1991, 1992 for Arkansas.

Bermuda's golden boy of athletics realises it's now or never as he attempts to become Bermuda's first Olympic champion.

Although struggling through the early part of this season, Wellman should have little difficulty qualifying for the final, setting up what promises to be another intriguing showdown with Briton Jonathon Edwards, Cuban Yoelvis Quesada, Jerome Romain of the Dominican Republic and his long-time friend/coach, American Mike Conley.

Edwards hasn't been beaten since his memorable performance a year ago. Wellman would like nothing more than to snap that streak on the world's greatest stage.

SUZIE DUNKLEY ZANDVOORT AGE: 40 EVENT: Equestrian dressage VENUE: Georgia International Horse Park WHEN: Wednesday, July 31 and Saturday, August 3 CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: 29th, Olympics, Barcelona, 1992; Several top ten placings in European dressage competitions Individual dressage, in which Bermuda's sole equestrienne will compete, might be compared to watching grass grow.

But it's a discipline that few understand, and even less master.

Suzie Dunkley falls into the latter category and over the years has been a fine ambassador for Bermuda, competing from her base in Belgium. She placed a respectable 29th in Barcelona four years ago, since when her horse Highness has died and been replaced by a 10-year-old Hanoverian gelding named Elliot.

More than 50 riders will line up for the dressage and while Dunkley won't be among the favourites, her experience could leave her in the top half of the entry.

ELLIOT HUBBARD AGE: 22 EVENT: Cycle road race VENUE: 17-lap course totalling 210 kilometres along the outskirts of Atlanta.

WHEN: Wednesday, July 31 CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: 24th, Commowealth Games, Victoria, 1994; 15th, Pan-Am Games, Mar del Plata, Argentina, 1995; First amateur in Milton Classic and Clearview Classic, USA, 1995; Bermuda Grand Prix champion, 1996 Elliott Hubbard has already accomplished more on two wheels than any local sportsman before him, taking on and beating professionals from both sides of the Atlantic, more than holding his own against the very best amateurs in both the Commonwealth and Pan-Am Games. Yet he faces in Atlanta the same problem which has dogged him at previous Games -- the lack of team support. When the strongest-ever Olympic field lines up for the 210-kilometre road race, the likes five-time Tour de France champion Miguel Indurain of Spain will all be comforted in the knowledge that their fellow countrymen can share the donkey work in what will be a fascinating tactical battle.