Aaron Evans has been hailed as Bermuda's most promising athlete since the 'The Three Musketeers' by the man whose 800 metres record he shattered.

Evans ran a lifetime best of one minute, 47 seconds to finish second in the 800 metres final at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championship in Knoxville, Tennessee, last weekend.

The lightning quick finish broke the 25-year-old national record held by Steve Burgess who recorded a time of 1:47.64 at the Martin Luther King Invitational in Atlanta, Georgia in 1985.

Former track star Burgess said Evans headed Bermuda's new breed of exciting athletes and believes he could eventually emulate legendary trio Brian Wellman, Troy Douglas and Nicky Saunders by starring on the international stage.

Burgess, who won a silver medal at the CAC Games in '85, said: "The sky's the limit for Aaron, he's that good.

"He's fearless, very competitive, a tenacious trainer, he can go all the way.

"He's a remarkable kid, he called me up moments after breaking my record and that shows this guy's a class act.

"I congratulated him and told him there was nobody I'd rather pass on the torch to, for me it's a seamless transition.

"I bestowed him with my 800 metres crown and he's the king now. I can see him going 1:43.

"Brian Wellman says it helps if you've been a top junior because when you come against the same guys at the senior level you aren't intimidated.

"Well, Aaron has excelled at the junior level.

Burgess, 50, had no doubt Evans would emerge as his heir apparent.

Like Evans, Burgess also competed for the University of Georgia. Like Evans, he also finished second when setting the national 800 metres record.

In a further uncanny twist, the winning time in both record-breaking races was 1:46.8.

"There's a lot of similarities between me and Aaron, although unlike me he was a much sought talent from a young age," said Burgess, who runs a personal training company called Back-to-Basics, and has worked with over 100 runners competing in next week's May 24 marathon.

"I sort of persuaded him to attend the University of Georgia instead of the University of Florida. Those two universities are arch rivals and I wouldn't have been happy if he had taken my record there!" said Burgess.

"Now he has the university's fastest 800 metres outdoor time and it won't be long before he takes my indoor record. No doubt he'll have the quickest 800 metres ran in Bermuda soon, but there'll be an asterisk above that one because I did it on grass!"

Despite setting a new Bermuda record, Evans believes he can run even quicker and was disappointed not to have won the race.

"I feel good about the race. At first I was very disappointed with finishing in second place, and then when I saw the time I couldn't believe it. I was not expecting to run a national record," Evans told the Caribbean Tracklife Online Magazine.

"My dad came all the way from Bermuda to see me run."

Next up for the ex-Warwick Academy student is the NCAA Regionals where the top 12 finishers for each region will move on to the NCAA championships.

"This time of 1.47 means nothing if I don't advance," he said.