It may be for a day. It may be for two weeks.

He won't know just how long his stay at the Olympic village will be until he arrives tomorrow. Only then will the 141-pound weightlifter from Kahului, Maui, find out if he's competing in his second Olympics.

After a very poor showing at the World Championships, the U.S. was originally given three slots in the Olympic weightlifting, a number that grew to five last month. The International Weightlifting Federation has now promised eight spots to the Americans for the July 20-30 competition at the Georgia World Congress Center.

Patao is ranked seventh on the 10-member team.

"I'm pretty sure I'm going to lift, but we won't know until we get there," said Patao, who would be competing in the 64-kilogram division next Monday.

"It's hard to think about it, so I've kept my focus on my training and not worried about anything else. I don't want to think that I've wasted my time.

"I left my family for six weeks to completely focus on this. I've been training for my family. Whether I compete or not, my goal was to be in the best shape I've ever been for them."

Patao will skip Friday's Opening Ceremonies if he is not competing, and return to Maui and his wife and three young children. Should he stay and lift, he has one other goal: to place as high - if not higher - as he did in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

The 26-year-old firefighter finished 10th in the 67.5 kg class four years ago. After the international weight classifications were changed in 1993, Patao began competing in the lower weight category.

"I'm a little skinnier but feeling almost as strong as I was," said the 5-foot-6 Patao, who lost about five pounds. "I want to be able to lift as much as I did when I was a little heavier."

Patao, ranked third after the 1995 World Championships, finished a disappointing seventh in the April U.S. trials. Still, he had faith that his Olympic career wasn't over.

He returned to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, his home for nine months before the 1992 Olympics.

"It been hard for him, not knowing for sure if he will compete," said his wife, Leslene, who took up weightlifting in January. "It's been hard not to let the motivation diminish. When he'd call home and ask what was he training for, I'd put the kids (Jaysen, 6; Jarren 4; Jordan, 9 months) on the phone. They don't really understand what it all means, but they are very proud of him. He didn't want to let them down.

"He doesn't like to be away from home but he didn't have the competition to push him here. As soon as he got to Colorado, he said the first training session was the best he'd had all year."

Vernon Patao credits his family, Maui coach Dr. Nelson Yogi, and his fellow firefighters with helping him stay motivated.

"I've been very lucky with all the support," said Patao. "It's been a real team effort this time.

"Hopefully, I can 'retire' from weightlifting in a few weeks, after lifting one more time. Then I don't have to be looking at 2000."

The 2000 Olympics will be held in Sydney, Australia. Patao said he would consider remaining in the sport if he became part of the U.S. "Incentive Plan" that pays full-time salaries to its top athletes.

USA Weightlifting will pay between $2,500 to $50,000 for lifters finishing in the top eight next week. There's also bonuses for medals: $15,000 for gold, $10,000 for silver and $7,500 for bronze.

"If they do that, I may have to stay," said Patao. "But I like my job as a firefighter, I wouldn't trade that for any other job in the world. It's exciting and I feel useful to the community."

"He's a good person, an excellent representative of the United States," said Dr. Peter George, a three-time Olympic medalist in weightlifting and Honolulu orthodontist. "He's not expected to medal but I think he'll do well. He always comes through when we need him to."

Patao's Olympic dream began in 1980. Although the U.S. boycotted the Summer Games - ironically, George was the American weightlifting coach that year - the fourth grader thought it would be "cool" to compete.

He joked about being an inch or two - or a foot or two - too short for basketball and looked for a sport he could grow into. Weightlifting grew on him.

It took him to Barcelona, where he marched right behind the Dream Team. The weightlifters have tickets to the men's basketball competition and Patao would like to watch - but only if he is a fellow athlete.

"I don't want to be around if I can't compete," he said. "I'd rather come home. I won't feel bad if I don't lift. I know that I gave it my all and did all I could do.

"I made the 1992 team, I had my Olympics. I feel sorry for the other alternates on the team who can't say that."

Age: 26.
Hometown: Kahului & Paia, Maui.
Education: Maui High ('88).
Event: Weightlifting, 64kg.
Olympic history: Second Olympic team. Placed 10th in 67.5 kg at at 1992 Barcelona Games.
International: Qualified for U.S. team with a 275-pound snatch and 359-pound clean-and-jerk at the World Championships.
National: Three-time U.S. champion (1992, '94, '95)... Four-time Olympic Festival participant, winning one gold, one silver and two bronze... 1990 national junior champion... 1990 Golden West Open champion.
Notable: Maui county firefighter at Paia station... Married (Leslene) with three children: Jaysen (6), Jarren (4) and Jordan (9 months).