lives next week when they go head-to-head with the best swimmers in the world in Perth, Australia.

The duo make up the first team from the Island to take part in the World Swimming Championships in their bid to meet qualifying standards in four separate events apiece for September's Commonwealth Games.

For 17-year-old Troake in particular, it is a significant event. Fahy, who will be 20 two days before competition starts on January 12, has already represented Bermuda at the CAC Age Group Championships, the last Commonwealth Games in British Columbia and the Pan Pacifics in 1995, but this is Troake's first big international meet for the Island.

Assistant national coach, Richard Goodwin, who will accompany the pair when they leave for Australia on Monday, addmitted: "It's uncharted territory.

It's the first time they've been up against the best in the world.'' Both will compete in the 100m and 200m freestyle, with Troake specialising in the 100m backstroke and 50m freestyle and Fahy the 100m butterfly and 200m individual medley.

Fahy swam over three seconds inside the medley qualifying time of 2:13.9 in this past summer's CAC Championships, while he has finished .18 seconds inside the mark in the butterfly.

But to qualify for Malaysia he needs to do so again within a year of the start of the Games.

Troake has met qualifying standards in the short course 25-metre pool of Bermuda but must now transpose that to the Olympic-size course.

Among those they will come up against will be Russian Alexander Popov, the fastest man in the 50m and 100m freestyle, Puerto Rican Rick Busquete, rated third in the world and twice a competitor in Bermuda, and Briton Mark Foster.

Australian Michael Klim, the fastest in the world at the 200m freestyle, will be hoping to make use of home advantage, while another man to look out for is Paul Palmer, a Briton who, according to Goodwin has "come on like a rocket in the last year''.

Fahy, a second-year student at Yale University in the US, has been doing most of his training there under the watchful eye of Frank Keefe -- a coach with long-standing ties with Bermuda.

"He's been putting in some heavy work, doing eight sessions a week, '' said Goodwin. "He's confident and looking forward to it. Frank has pulled out all the stops, making team targets secondary to Stephen's individual ones, which is not the trend in US swimming, and very commendable.'' Troake, meanwhile, has been training locally for the world championships since September, despite his school commitments at Saltus.

"He's in good shape, building his enthusiasm and excitement and I'm sure he will acquit himself well,'' added Goodwin.