Uncertainty surrounds the eligibility of Nikki Butterfield, the wife of Bermuda triathlete Tyler Butterfield to compete in this year’s Appleby Bermuda Half Marathon Derby.

The past ITU Under-23 World Champion, Australian Long Course Champion and Abu Dhabi International Triathlon winner had originally been granted permission to register and take part in the 13.1 mile race from Somerset to Bernard’s Park.

However, following further scrutiny doubts have been raised as to whether or not the Australian professional female triathlete meets the criteria that would pave the way for her to compete alongside of her husband who won a maiden May 24 title last year.

Race rules stipulate that all “entrants must have resided in Bermuda six months prior to race day to be eligible for prizes and to be defined as a local resident”.

The Butterfields are presently in Bermuda but live in Boulder, Colorado.

They were also on Island last November, two months before Nikki gave birth to the couple’s second child, Walker.

Gina Tucker, the Bermuda Half Marathon Race Committee chairperson, said that her organisation are now looking into the matter.

“She has already registered but we really have to investigate her eligibility to determine whether or not she is eligible to participate according to the residency criteria,” she said. “She is an interesting case because she is married to Tyler, which makes her extended family.

“However, she would be new to the running scene in Bermuda and having not resided here makes it a little complicated so we will just have to consider it further.”

In an e-mail sent to Jana Swainson, the race administrator, Nikki emphasised that she “will have been running just for 2-3 months after a year off running by the time the race comes” and therefore was “not expecting anything special in terms of my performance on the day”.

She also expressed a strong desire to compete having watched her husband participate in the event “so many times”.

She revealed that the couple’s domicile “is considered to be Bermuda as the reason we live away is so he [Tyler] can compete at a level so he can then represent Bermuda at the Olympics, etc”.

She added this has been proven legally as her children have Bermuda passports even though they were born in the United States.

“I thought it would be worth mentioning as I know it is a grey area with spouses as to whether they can run or not,” Nikki wrote.

Responding to Nikki’s e-mail, Swainson wrote: “We, the Bermuda Marathon Derby Sporting Enterprise Committee, will be happy to have you register and participate in our Bermuda Day event.”