Bean quietly trains in Bermuda, preparing for his entrance onto the Athens stage.

It is here, in the marble Panathinaikon Stadium, site of the first modern Olympics in 1896, that he will next week set foot on the same blistering track as Donovan Bailey and Ato Bolden, just one of about 100 sprinters looking to grab a piece of prestige in athletics' most glamorous event.

For the two other Bermudians taking part in the championships -- 200-metre man Troy Douglas and triple jumper Brian Wellman -- it is almost an everday occurrence. They are veterans of international competition (Wellman won a silver medal at this same meet two years ago; Douglas was fourth at the world indoor championships in February) but for Bean, it's another step in his apprenticeship.

At 21, he oozes potential and with a series of painful injuries and an uneven family background behind him, confidently strides toward his destiny as the Island's next great athlete.

"You're going to see a lot of Devon Bean in the years to come,'' the man himself says.

While the bragadoccio sounds surprising coming from Bean, it is also a welcome sign of confidence necessary to butt heads with the fastest men in the world.

It stems from a year that saw him compete in his first Olympics last summer, take part in a head-turning camp in Arizona this month and receive fawning attention from a host of top US universities. And on Monday, he, national coach Gerry Swan and Bermuda Track and Field Association president Judith Simmons leave for Greece, where they'll join Wellman and Douglas.

Douglas is a threat to make the finals and Wellman could easily win a medal.

Bean, however, is under no grand illusions; merely making the semi-finals would be an accomplishment.

"Devon is in good shape, not just physically but mentally,'' said Swan, who has taken Bean under his wing and programmed a strenuous training regimen.

"Realistically he can get in position to challenge for a place in the semi-finals.'' "Right now, I'm just below that level, with the Donovan Baileys and Linford Christies,'' said Bean.

Asked what it will take to make the semi-finals, Bean's eyes grow wide and he merely exhales loudly. His personal best is 10.27 seconds and Bean pictures sub-ten second times coming out of the semis. He also sees Bailey's world record being lowered, but also sees himself in the same arena one day.

So, apparently, do a lot of others. After graduating from Long Beach City College in California this year, Bean was besieged by scholarship offers from the likes of Louisiana State University, Tennessee, USC and UCLA before settling for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where he'll begin electronics classes as a junior this fall.

And this was before a high-altitude training camp in Flagstaff, Arizona with the Canadian team two weeks ago. There, Bean gained further insight into posture, breathing, nutrition, weight training and rest, in addition to challenging Bruny Surin and Glenroy Gilbert -- members, along with Bailey of Canada's gold-medal 4x100 metre relay team -- in a series of four races.

"That was a major confidence builder,'' said Bean.

Quick out ot the blocks, Bean led all sprinters through the first half of the races before fading over the final 30 metres. Accelerating through the tape is one of the things he and Swan have been stressing.

"A lot of people think sprinting is just running fast,'' said Bean, who missed the finals at the CAC Championships last month in Puerto Rico by .08 seconds. "But it's a job. That's what I tell people: `I've got to go to work'.'' Packing 157 chiselled pounds on his 5-foot-9 frame, Bean has only recently been able to spend hours in the weight room and on the track, due to the fact that last year was his first in which he was entirely injury free.

Plagued by hamstring, pelvis and lower back pain, there were plenty of nights, he says, when his mother, Sandra, would venture into his bedroom and see him praying for relief.

Says Swan: "People should know that there are some very worthwhile achievements coming from a devoted bunch of athletes.'' He's referring also to Wellman and Douglas, both of whom are now based overseas. In many respects, Bean is following in the footsteps of Wellman, who also went to Warwick Secondary, attended junior college in Calfifornia and went to university in Arkansas.

Bean set to take on world's best From Page 13 "I firmly believe he can win a medal,'' Swan said of Wellman. Despite a string of injuries, the five-time Athlete of the Year is still capable of leaping 18 metres, he added.

As for Douglas, he recently clocked a 20.61, probably his fastest time heading into a major competition, Swan said.

The sixth world championships were originally awarded to the Greek capital after Mexico City turned them down for lack of funds and although the final cost is expected to be around $36 million, projected revenue is only $7.3 million.

One week before the start, the Olympic stadium reportedly still resembles a giant construction site with workers installing new cabling, replacing broken chairs, painting interior walls and installing desks and telephone lines for the media. A total of 300 athletes from 200 countries have met the tough Oylmpic standards to compete.

The championships' financial failure is also raising questions about Greece's Olympic bid.

IN THE FAST LANE -- Athens-bound sprinter Devon Bean takes a tip from national coach Gerry Swan during a recent training session at National Stadium.