the Island as a training base in the lead-up to next year's Olympic Games in Atlanta.

The world indoor 60 metres record holder and 100 metres silver medallist at the 1993 World Championships is on the Island this week, staying at the Hamilton Princess.

A friend of local middle distance runner Steve Burgess, Cason has agreed to appear as a featured guest during a panel discussion focussing on athletics this evening (8.00 p.m.) at the hotel.

Joining him will be Burgess, top local runner Jay Donawa and fellow American sprinter Kevin Bronskill who has a best of 20.21 in the 200 metres.

The seminar is open to the public.

Cason set the indoor record in 1992 in Ghent, Belgium when he clocked 6.45 seconds after an earlier false start fiasco involving Namibia's Frankie Fredericks.

Fredericks had won the first "race'' thanks to a false start and crossed the line in 6.45 -- seemingly in world record time, only to have his victory nullified when it was found out that the recall gun had failed to go off.

The mercurial Cason took full advantage the second time around, beating the previous best of 6.48 set by compatriot Leroy Burrell in February of 1991.

Appearing primed for superstardom, a torn Achilles tendon ultimately ruined Cason's 1992 season and despite coming back strong in 1993 he has been largely a mystery the past two years.