of first place finishes and a personal best in his discipline, the triple jump.

Wellman, 27, soared to new heights achieving a personal best at an indoor meeting in Grenoble, France leaping 17.47 metres (57 feet, 33 inches).

The mark will not, however, be regarded as a new Bermuda record because it was completed indoors. The 17.41 metres Wellman jumped at an El Paso, Texas meeting in 1994 will continue to stand as the local record.

Wellman finished ahead of Oleg Sakirkin of Kazakhstan (17.06) and Maris Bruziks of Latvia (16.84) at the Grenoble event.

He began the weekend on a high note, winning in Moscow with a jump of 17.07 metres (56 feet), beating Russians Denis Kapustin (16.95) and Dmitry Bizov (16.55).

The results put Wellman on a strong footing for 1995 as he continues to work his way toward a gold medal at the Pan American Games in Argentina in March.

The two-time Athlete of the Year is coming off his finest year on the international circuit, despite being inactive for three weeks during the summer because of an automobile accident. He ended 1994 as the number three triple jumper in the world behind his coach Mike Conley and Kenny Harrison of the United States.

It was the third straight year he was ranked in the top 10 in the world.