Tipped for the top while still in short pants, Tyler Butterfield is now beginning to fulfil the potential many people saw in him all those years ago.

And though yet to stand atop a podium in his chosen field of triathlon outside of Bermuda, the teenage Islander could well find himself out on his own at this week's Government Sports Awards.

After a year which saw Butterfield stamp his authority on the international circuit with fine performances at the Commonwealth Games and the World Triathlon Championships among others, the 19-year-old must surely be one of the main contenders for the prestigious Male Athlete of the Year title.

Having shown what he could do in his homeland, Butterfield quit Bermuda for Australia as he embarked on his quest for world domination.

He made his professional debut in March when he travelled to Tasmania for the Accenture Series and there then followed appearances at a number of top events on the Australian mainland.

Those races were all in preparation for one of his two goals in 2002, the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England.

“I'd be very happy to be in the top 25 in the Commonwealth Games and to do a sub-33 (minutes) in the 10K (run),” said Butterfield in the lead-up. “The competition is going to be very hard . . . I just want to see how I measure up to these professionals. I know I am not up to their standard yet but this will tell me a lot.”

As it turned out his top 25 prediction was somewhat conservative, Butterfield coming in 14th out of 34 competitors, finishing the 1500 metre swim, 41.5 kilometre cycle and ten kilometre run in 1:57.01.

Following the Games, he travelled to Switzerland where he trained with top pro Chris McCormack and competed in the prestigious Lausanne World Cup and the Credit Suisse races as he honed his body for the Worlds in Mexico in November.

In the Junior Sprint in Cancun, Butterfield was a hair's breadth away from grabbing gold, only to fall on the approach to the finish and have to settle for bronze.

“I was aiming for first and I wanted to try and be World Champ,” he said afterwards. “If it was any other race I would probably have been happy with third and I wouldn't have worried about it. But at the World Championships the guy who is first can call himself the best in the world for one year.”

Butterfield need not worry, for there will be plenty more opportunities ahead and many more years in which he can fulfil his dream.

One of his main rivals for the top award this week will be sailor Peter Bromby.

His victory in the Star Class at the Rolex Miami Olympic Class Regatta in Florida last month came too late to be taken into consideration, but the fact he has qualified for the 2004 Olympics in Athens means he will be among the contenders.

Bromby, who had earlier clinched the Bacardi Cup, also wrote himself into local sailing history as he and his crew secured a semi-final berth in the Bermuda Gold Cup.

In doing so he became the first Bermudian sailor to advance to the last four since the event became part of the Swedish Match Tour calendar. He eventually finished third.

Earlier in the year Bromby and Martin Siese came sixth in the Star Class World Championships in California, rising to second in the world rankings as a result. As of February 5 the Bermudian was ranked fifth.

Cyclist Kris Hedges, who came into his own at the Commonwealth Games where he kept pace with some of the world's elite in the time trial and put in a strong performance in the road race before being forced out, should be considered an outsider on Thursday night when the awards are handed out at the Fairmont Hotel in Hamilton.

Last year also saw Hedges notch an unprecedented hat-trick of wins in the Sinclair Packwood Memorial Day race and temporarily take the lead in the CD&P Grand Prix when he beat off the challenge of the overseas professionals in the time trial.

He also defended his time trial gold at the Caribbean Championships in Curacao and grabbed bronze in the road race. The Snow Valley rider was also honoured in the US where he took TSV's annual time trial award and was then named as an All-American for the National Collegiate Cycling Association by USA Cycling.

Another athlete coming up on the rails is Jay Donowa, whose determination to move out of the shadow of Kavin Smith saw him take the Labour Day Five Mile race and retain his national cross country title among other achievements.

Mention should also be made of North Village soccer coach Scott Morton who last season followed up his club's 2001 success in the Charity Cup, Dudley Eve and Friendship Trophy, by achieving the League and FA Cup double.

In Bermuda's other national sport, cricket, St. David's player Glenn Blakeney was undoubtedly the most impressive performer during the summer, slamming six centuries including a mammoth 303 not out against Bailey's Bay in league play - believed to be a new record.

However, Blakeney's reluctance to represent his country may have hurt his chances of being crowned top local athlete.

Ironically, the Island's top modern days sportsman, Shaun Goater, is ineligible for consideration for the award as he is a professional.

Last season Goater helped Manchester City claim the First Division title, finishing top scorer with 32 goals. And this season he has more than held his own alongside the likes of ?12-million signing Nicolas Anelka.

In fact, the 32-year-old outshone his team-mate in the first of this season's two Manchester derbies, netting twice against United in a 3-1 victory, the latter goal his 100th for the club. He scored again in the return fixture this year at Old Trafford, netting the fastest ever goal for a player coming on as substitute - nine seconds.