when he raced to second place in 45.37 seconds at an international meet in Koblenz, Germany.

Douglas, who reached the semifinals at the Barcelona Games earlier this month, and has been steady as he continues on the European circuit with the "International Team'', bettered the mark he established in Victoria, Canada, in June when he clocked 45.54.

His best effort in Barcelona was 45.59 when he finished sixth in the semifinals, that effort coming on the heels of a semifinal appearance in the 200 metres at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Last night's race, which was minus the big names from Barcelona, was won by Mark Richardson of Britain in 45.26. Douglas was a clear second, followed by Francis Ogala of Uganda (46.34) and Ralf Pfersich of Germany (46.89).

Douglas' performance was a marked improvement on his previous outing in Cologne two weeks ago when he was seventh in 46.14. His first meet since the Olympics produced a second-place finish in Linz, Austria, in 45.61.

GETTING FASTER -- Bermuda's Troy Douglas, pictured during the Olympic 400 metres semifinal, set a national record of 45.37 seconds in Germany last night.