Bermuda’s elite junior triathletes Tyler Smith and Erica Hawley both held their own in yesterday’s Camtri Sprint Triathlon American Cup.

Smith remained on the lead lap, but decided to the skip the run as a precaution because of a foot injury he was carrying, while Hawley also underlined her potential after crossing the line seventh in the women’s field.

“I think it was a good event and I wasn’t too disappointed with my swim or most of the bike,” Smith, who attends Leeds University, said. “It was just unfortunate coming up that last hill on Woodbourne Avenue where the wheel just came out from under me. I hit a bump or something and, unfortunately, those things happen in racing.

“I wasn’t planning on running the full run anyway. So once I came off I just decided to shut it down for the day. I just have to move on and focus on getting myself healthy and ready for the next race.

“It was so good coming through down Front Street every time. The crowd really gave me some motivation to keep me going and I was really pleased with the turnout today.”

University of Colorado freshman Hawley, who crossed the line in a combined time of 1:06.55, was satisfied with her performance, but felt that she could have done better.

“I was happy but there are definitely some things to work on,” she said. “My swim was good and my run felt really strong but my bike wasn’t what I wanted it to be.

“I feel if I had made the pack I could have come top five. But considering the circumstances, the small field and hard course I’m happy with the way it turned out.

“It was amazing being out on the course. It was definitely nice to hear the crowd being on my own on the bike and when I started the run the home crowd just propelled me forward coming in. I was just really proud to be racing at home.”