Tyler Butterfield has given his solid showing competing in the Ironman 70.3 Boulder in Boulder, Colorado at the weekend the proverbial thumbs up.

The Bermudian triathlete finished second in the professional men’s division after completing the 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run in 3 hrs, 44 mins and 40 secs.

Butterfield made a late charge on the run to reel in leader Chris Leiferman, but ultimately ran out of real estate as his American rival held on to win Saturday’s event held at Boulder Reservoir by a mere eight seconds.

Kennett Peterson, also of the United States, crossed the line in third to complete the podium.

“Boulder 70.3 IM turned out to be a great day when I didn’t really know what to expect,” Butterfield, who had splits of 25:42, 2:03:42 and 1:11:56, said.

“It was an easy race to enter and give it a try since it was in our back yard and no travel was needed. The race had lots of friends in the race and out spectating so it was special to do well.

“Fortunately, I had a great run to get me from fifth or sixth off the bike back into the race at second and closing in on Chris, who won with a dominating bike leg.”

Butterfield’s impressive showing came on the heels of his solid seventh-place finish competing at June’s Ironman Boulder.

“Since the birthday of Fletcher six weeks ago, my wife (Nikki) has been amazing and the training has been back to normal after a lighter winter,” the 36-year-old added.

“It’s nice to see the training pay off and hopefully the end of season races can be more of the same.

“There are a few races in September, November and December that are on the plan.”

American Skye Moench claimed the women’s title at Saturday’s Ironman 70.3 Boulder convincingly with compatriots Leslie Smith and Meredith Kessler taking second and third to complete the United States’ clean sweep of the podium.

The Ironman 70.3 Boulder featured nearly 2,700 participants from 47 states and 31 countries.