The biggest change in Brian Wellman's life the day after he won a silver medal at the World Athletics Championships was that he suddenly had to share his spartan room in the athletes' village with someone else.

Team-mate Troy Douglas, competing in the 200 metres tomorrow and Friday, arrived in Gothenburg yesterday and immediately moved into Wellman's lair, surprising the triple jumper with a loud, shrieking cry.

"Silver!,'' shouted Douglas as Wellman returned from a short walk outside the village.

"He wants to be like me because I got the silver in Barcelona (at the Indoor Worlds) and he's just trying to follow in my footsteps,'' said Douglas. "I'm happy for him. I'm going to call him `Silver' from now on.'' Wellman, in his first interview since finishing second behind Jonathan Edwards in Monday's triple jump, would like nothing more than to change that monicker to `Gold' after next summer's Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Wellman, sounding tired and hoarse after a night of merriment and just three hours sleep, began the day the same way the previous one ended -- as the number two triple jumper in the world.

He jumped behind the awesome Edwards on Monday in each round, a feat made even more difficult after the Briton smashed the triple jump record during his first two jumps.

"It was pretty exciting,'' said Wellman, who captured the silver medal with a wind-aided leap of 17.62 metres (57 feet, 93 inches), his third best leap ever and all three coming this year. "It was also kind of nerve-wracking for me for awhile. The media kind of screwed it up because they were all over the place after Edwards broke the record. But I was also pumped. I was ready to jump even further than that.'' Wellman leapt over 18 metres in the first round, coming close to Edwards' jump of 18.16 (59-7) but it was ruled foul. He fouled again on his second attempt when he "totally messed up the approach. The wind was the biggest problem.

First there'd be tailwinds of two or three metres per second and then all of a sudden there'd be a three metres headwind.'' The 27-year-old Bermudian jumped over 55 feet on his third try, still no guarantee that he would reach the medal podium.

"I wasn't necessarily thinking about getting a silver or bronze, I was still trying to win the competition,'' said Wellman yesterday in a telephone interview.

On Wellman's last try -- eventually ruled foul -- the 35,000 spectators inside the stadium and millions more watching on television thought the Bermudian might have stolen the gold away from Edwards.

"I was still thinking in my last jump that I was going to get (Edwards),'' said Wellman, who hugged his British rival following the competition. "I thought to myself, `okay, this is the perfect moment, I can get Jonathan on my last jump'. But I didn't take some good advice from my friend (and fellow triple jumper) Mike Conley who told me to back it up because I was running really well. It was the fastest I've ever been on the runway. I fouled only marginally by about 15 or 18 centimetres on my last jump. But I still jumped comfortably over 18 metres.'' Robert Klingensmith, Wellman's manager, described the last jump as "an absolute boomer.'' Following his last jump Wellman, often reserved in public but a showman at meets, roused spectators with his own bit of theatrics.

"Brian's pretty entertaining and he thrilled the crowd,'' said Klingensmith.

"Athletes come in all shapes and sizes and behave in different ways and we always joke with Brian that there's a fine line between being entertaining and being a jerk but he's always entertaining.

"When he jumped his last jump he didn't realise it was a foul and as he turned around he jumped, punched the air and looked back at the board,'' added Klingensmith. "When he saw the red flag he stiffened like a board and fell flat on his back. It was really funny and the crowd loved it.'' The silver medal will almost certainly open up new doors for the Bermudian, and it's possible he'll compete in at least three more events this year -- in New Delhi, Brussels and Tokyo. Since the world can't seem to get enough of Edwards right now, the world record holder will need to face top-notch challengers.

Wellman also signed a two-year deal with Nike estimated to be worth at least $100,000 over two years, but he preferred not to talk about that yesterday.

"Brian has always been considered as someone who is inconsistent ...who didn't come through in the clutch,'' said Klingensmith, who engineered the Nike deal. "He certainly quelled those rumours with his indoor championship.

Then his fees went up and suddenly he disappeared from the circuit for awhile and everyone thought he was a flash in the pan.

"I think what he did on Monday certainly helped his reputation,'' added Klingensmith. "He's somebody who's maturing and he'll probably tell you that his biggest asset is his strength, but initially that was a hindrance because he relied on his strength and not his technique. Now his technique is catching up with his strength and I think we'll see him go further and further.'' Wellman met with the media again yesterday during a press conference staged by Nike. He later described being on the medal podium as an "awesome experience.

It's gratifying but it wasn't total gratification because there are other goals I have to achieve. I'll definitely train with a little more desire now because Jonathan's changed everything. We know what kind of mental attitude and preparedness we'll need for the Olympics.'' Later he said: "I'd have to rank this achievement as one of the better ones to date, not the best because there were so many expectations on me.'' He described the gleaming silver medal as "pretty nice. It's about two-and-a-half inches in diameter and there's glass in the middle of it and the ribbon is yellow and blue, like the Swedish flag. It's in a nice blue box with silver on top. Inside it says `Brian Wellman, second place, triple jump, 17.62'.'' Douglas, arriving in Sweden following a 90-minute flight from his training base in Holland, is hoping to add another medal to Bermuda's total.

"Everybody I've run into so far has said I'm here to collect a second medal for Bermuda. But I'll just take it as it comes. There's no pressure on me, I'm just going to go and do what I do best and enjoy myself.' Douglas did not train yesterday and will have only a light workout today.

"I'm ready, there's no need to panic because I can't change anything in the next 48 hours.'' Wellman will stay in Gothenburg until the final day of the championships on August 13.

LEAP OF FAITH -- Brian Wellman (left) thought he could beat Edwards (right).