Bermuda at the Olympic Games next summer have finally been dashed.

One of only a handful of Bermuda swimmers given a realistic chance of qualifying for both the Olympics and the next Commonwealth Games in 1998, the 22-year-old Flook has been told by local doctors that he could require as many as four operations within the next two years.

Plagued by nagging knee and shoulder troubles for more than a year, Flook has been informed that the likelihood of surgery has now increased from a possibility to probability and he is resigned to going under the scalpel.

The breast-stroker has been unable to train since performing at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada in 1994.

"My doctors reckon that I will need three or possibly four operations within the next two years with the first expected to be done early in the New Year by Dr. (Colin) Couper,'' said Flook.

"I've been told that there will probably be about two years of operations, definitely one for my knee if not two. And then I may travel abroad to have them look inside my shoulder and have an operation for that out there.'' He has been diagnosed as having cartilage problem in his knee while the shoulder problem has not been clearly defined and therefore attempts are being made to have him travel to the United States to see a specialist.

"It's a tendon and ligament problem in the shoulder. They reckon that there is also a piece of cartilage in the joint that is shot as well. The problem is right where the shoulder bone meets the collarbone. It's basically the only support that your arm has,'' said Flook.

"That's the vital area where you get all of your strength to lift your arm.

It so happened that too much movement in that area was messing up the cartilage and as a result the tendon and ligament was affected.'' Flook said he was relieved to know that the doctors were now zeroing in on the problems and making some progress.

"Right now it basically means no running and no lifting and things like that for a while, and probably for an extensive period once the operations are started. So I doubt if I will be in a pool at all next year.'' Flook, however, remains hopeful that the track that he is now on will put him on course for a return to competitive swimming in two years and he's optimistic about future prospects at international level. But he said his main concern at this stage was that doctors could correct the discomfort in order that he could be free of pain when doing routine exercises.