that the male and female Marathon Derby winners, Kavin Smith and Anna Eatherley, will be among the competitors.

In addition to having the June 11 meet beefed up by their appearances, Race Director Mike Charles was further encouraged to hear from the Department of Youth and Sports that doubts about the National Stadium being available in time have now been officially erased.

Work to restore the track to a satisfactory condition was set back somewhat because the person responsible for the job was held up for a few days.

But it is now anticipated that everything could be completed within three days once that person arrives in the island.

"We were getting a bit concerned there for awhile, but we are told that everything should be okay as far as the facilities being ready,'' said Charles yesterday, after contacting the Department of Youth and Sports.

"Everything is starting to take shape, and it truly looks like it will be an extremely exciting event we will be putting on this year.'' Charles was also on a high over the sponsorship support the meet has received from the business community with some major companies contributing this year.

One such company, Fidelity International, will sponsor the Fidelity 5000 metres for men in which marathon champion Smith is expected to participate.

Other top names include college students Jay Donawa and Terrance Armstrong as well as top Derby finishers Mark Perry, Brett Forgesson and Ben Dyer.

According to Charles, Donawa is attempting to bring two of his college track and field teammates down here for the event as well.

"The sponsorship has been great so far, but with so few events left we are asking other prospective sponsors to finalise their plans as soon as possible,'' said the race director.

One of the feature events will be the triple-jump in which Olympian Brian Wellman will be the main attraction. Other competitors in this event have not been confirmed so far but Wellman is understood to be trying to persuade some top names in American track and field to participate with him.

Earlier Charles indicated that the event will require an injection of nearly $20,000 in order to attract some elite athletes from abroad, but this picture appears to have brightened with a host of young, promising athletes now lined up.

"There are some exciting youngsters around and there is a strong indication that for the first time we may have as many as two heats in the sprints,'' said Charles, referring to the 100 and 200 metres.

Most of the youngsters are athletes from the Hamilton Harriers, Pacers Track Club and those who train regular with the Bermuda Track and Field Association's programme at National Stadium.

Although it is not confirmed, Eatherley could be involved in one of the two other feature races which include the 3000 metres with possibly some of the other top female runners also appearing.

Jennifer Fisher will head the entry list for the women's 1500 metres but nobody else has so far signed up for this event.

Charles said that Smith and Eatherley would not only boost the Classic but also build themselves up for the CAC Track and Field Championships.

"We are really excited,'' said Charles. "Both champions ran a great race.

Anna annihilated everybody when she took over the lead and won the women's division while Kavin did his entirely different by establishing a good lead from the start.'' "Both athletes appear to be in top condition and hopefully the public will once again get the opportunity to see their talent within a short period after the marathon.''