It proved to be a good day for triathletes named Tyler yesterday, as Tyler Smith stepped up from a second place a year ago to win the Heritage Day junior race.

The 15-year-old recovered just in time from a cycle crash a month ago that left him with a broken arm, but yesterday he showed that he has made a full recovery by winning the two-mile race in 10min 58sec, 14 seconds ahead of Aaron Jacobs in 11:12.

Ironically, the pair were second and third last year when Smith was beaten by just two seconds by David Darrell who had a winning time of 10:40. Darrell made his debut in the half-marathon yesterday and Smith, one of the Island’s top young triathletes, is pleased to end his time as a junior with a first overall win.

“It was pretty much a sprint the whole way,” said Smith, who aims to run in the half-marathon next year. “From the first mile, I was running with Aaron and then coming down Victoria Street, I started to open up a bit of a lead.

“It wasn’t easy, a hard race even though it was really short. Today was a good day, I won my age group a couple of years back. This was my first overall win and I’m happy with that. “My time was a bit slower than last year but I’m still happy. Hopefully next year I’ll be able to run the whole race. I’m looking forward to that.”

Third overall was Jayden Ming in 11:26 while Ryan Outerbridge was fourth and first in his age group in 11:27. Akim Johnston, in 11:52, completed the top five, with a second straight fifth-placed finish.

Selah Tuzo was the first female, fifteenth overall, in 12:48 while Jade Johnston was second girl, and 20th overall, and Tesyah-Mahlé Astwood third.