Tyler Butterfield got his season off to a good start, finishing third at the Ironman 70.3 Latin American Championships in Brazil.

The Bermuda triathlete finished in a time of 3hr 45min 48sec, some four minutes behind Tim Don, of Britain, who chased down Tim O’Donnell to win in a time of 3:41:47.

O’Donnell, Igor Amorelli and Don emerged from the waters of Lake Paranoá with the lead pack of six swimmers, with Butterfield and Santiago Ascenco in the next group a minute off the pace.

O’Donnell then pushed to the front in the bike and never looked back through remainder of the ride.

Amorelli, Don, Butterfield and Ascenco appeared content to let O’Donnell lead the way and the four dismounted their bikes together, all within two minutes of the American.

However, Don clawed back time on O’Donnell during the first half of the run, and moved into second as he eased through the field.

It was not a matter of O’Donnell, whose run split was 1:16:20, slowing down as much as it was Don’s impressive pace, which was three minutes faster.

Just before 17km mark Don made the pass for the lead and then went on to capture the title.

O’Donnell followed 52 seconds later in 3:42:40, with Butterfield in third.

n Tyler Smith dominated the traditional Good Friday Triathlon, finishing some five minutes ahead of the field.

Smith was fastest in the water and on land, and posted a time of 57min 01sec with Geoff Smith second in 1:02:26 and Mark Robinson third more than a minute further back.

In the women’s race, Martina Olcheski-Bell was four minutes better than her nearest rival, coming home in 1:08:44, which was good enough for fifth place overall. Kristen Palmer was the second female in 1:12:53, and Kim McIvor third in 1:18:48.