Olympians in the mix: Tyler Smith, left, Erica Hawley and Jack Harvey took part in the Cambridge Beaches Bermuda Triathlon on Sunday (Photograph by Mehluli Sibanda)
Tyler Smith and Erica Hawley showed great form as they claimed victories at the Cambridge Beaches Bermuda Triathlon this past Sunday.
Smith, competing in his first full triathlon since Paris, finished first overall with a time of 54 minutes 52 seconds. Jackson Langley managed to hold off strong challenges from Gianluca Bortoli and Oliver Hayward to secure second place.
Cambridge Beaches Triathlon photo gallery
Hawley was the top woman finisher, completing the race in 1 hour 1 minute 10 seconds, which placed her fifth among 54 individual adult racers.
During the swim segment, Smith faced stiff competition from fellow Olympian Jack Harvey-who competed as part of a relay team-and national open water champ Craig Munden, finishing that leg in 10:05. On the bike course, which he completed in 27 minutes flat, Smith went head-to-head with Sinclair Packwood Memorial Race winner Matt Boys. He wrapped up with a strong 16:08 run over 5km against Bermuda Half-Marathon Derby winner Sean Trott.
Harvey teamed up with Alexander Miller and Skyler Powell to win the adult mixed team sprint distance category.
“It’s my first triathlon since Paris, so that’s a huge thing ticked off,” Smith told The Royal Gazette.
Tyler Smith on the run (Photograph by Ras Mykkal)
“Being able to link together swimming, biking and running is something I’ve been aiming for over the past year. It took lots of hard work, rehab, medical help-you name it-to get back here.”
“I’m really happy just to say I’m fit again. To push through an entire race knowing it’s only my physical limits stopping me-not injuries or illness-is huge.”
“I managed to pull off most of what I wanted during this race and got everything I could out of it. Of course there are small things to improve-that’s why I chose this event before heading to Brazil because triathlon has so many parts.”
“Honestly though, my swim exits weren’t great and that’s something I need to fix. We had Jack Harvey-an Olympic swimmer-and Craig plus Ollie Hayward all nailed their swims which was awesome to see.”
Erica Hawley running (Photograph by Ras Mykkal)
“All those guys passed me right after the swim exit-that’s definitely an area for me to work on. At this level even small mistakes can make a big difference when you step it up.”
Hawley crossed well ahead of Marie-Lyne Dore and Lynsey Palmer who finished later.
“This year felt really good and honestly I think competition was tougher than last year,” she said.
“Tyler was back fit and healthy; we had Jack too along with some strong teams so I tried staying near them as much as possible.”
Erica Hawley putting her new time-trial bike through its paces at Cambridge Beaches Bermuda Triathlon (Photograph by Ras Mykkal)
“I mainly wanted experience riding my time-trial bike. Felt like my power output was solid but cornering still tricky.”
“Played safe mostly but getting used to being on those bars takes time. Running the 5K felt great because that’s actually my favorite distance.”
“Crowds cheering were probably my favorite part – everyone made racing at home feel special.”
Tyler Smith moments after his win (Photo by Mehluli Sibanda)
Smith said winning against Munden’s relay trio – named “Tri-ing To Beat Tyler” – pushed him hard throughout. “They gave me a tough swim exit battle,” said the 27-year-old. “I tussled with Matt for early bike laps then pulled ahead next lap.”
“Sean Trott is a strong runner so staying sharp on that leg was key. “In end won maybe by one or two minutes but wasn’t easy – had to treat it seriously more than expected but that was planned.”
“Wanted this race done like international level.”
