Triple jumper Brian Wellman won the gold medal on the third and final day of the world indoor championships in Barcelona yesterday.

On Saturday, Troy Douglas won a silver medal in the 200 metres.

It was Bermuda's first ever gold medal at the world indoors, capturing the triple jump with a meet record leap of 17.72 metres (58 feet, 13 inches).

Wellman's effort was the third best of all-time and was only two inches off the world record of 17.77 metres (58 feet, 33 inches) held by Leonid Voloshin of Russia.

"I was actually hoping to break the world record today,'' the three-time Bermuda athlete of the year said. "I came up a little short. I'll make a prediction: I'll jump 18 metres outdoor this year.'' Wellman's winning effort came on his only legal jump of the day. He fouled on four others and passed once.

Wellman topped the previous championship record of 17.65 metres (57-11), set by Mike Conley of the United States in 1989.

Wellman's best previous results were third-place finishes at the 1993 World Indoors and the 1994 Commonwealth Games.

After his winning jump, the 27-year-old Wellman yanked down his shirt and flexed his muscles for the crowd at the Palau Sant Jordi arena. He then grabbed a Bermuda team towel and held it aloft.

On Friday night during qualifying Wellman jumped 17.51 metres (57-51 ) clearly a sign of good things to come.

Earlier this year Wellman set a Bermuda indoor mark when jumped 17.47 metres (57-33 ).

Yoelvis Quesada won the silver medal with a jump of 17.62 metres (57-93 ), a Cuban record and sixth best jump of all-time. France's Serge Helan took third at 17.06 metres (55-113 ).

Canadian jumper Edrick Floreal was carried off on a stretcher and taken to a hospital after suffering torn ligaments in his right kneecap. Doctors said he would undergo surgery in the next few days.

Floreal, 28-year-old cousin of Canadian sprinter Bruny Surin, writhed in pain for several minutes in the triple jump pit after his knee gave out on take-off.

On Saturday, Douglas won the silver medal in the 200 metres.

Douglas clocked 20.94 and was second to European outdoor champion Geir Moen of Norway who won with a time of 20.58 seconds. Chile's Sebastian Keitel took the bronze in 20.98. The field was weakened by the withdrawal earlier in the day of defending champion John Regis of Britain, still hobbled by a hamstring injury. Sergei Osovich was also missing at the start line.

Moen won the European outdoor crown he won in Helsinki last summer with an equally emphatic victory in the men's race.

Running powerfully and with perfect control on the highly-ranked track he clocked 20.58 in a race of only four men.

Douglas will represent Bermuda at the Pan-Am Games in the 200 metres event, where he'll compete against US heavyweights Michael Johnson, Jeff Williams, Kevin Braunskill and Tony Wheeler.

He also finished in 20.94 at a recent indoor meet in Ghent, Belgium, but was third that time. After the meet the Bermuda Olympic Association questioned his fitness.

Brian Wellman