When officials at the London Triathlon incorrectly awarded Matthew Herring the gold instead of the silver medal recently perhaps they had one eye on the future.

For the teenager is one of a group of up and coming Islanders who are determined to put Bermuda firmly on the triathlon map.

Just a week after Tyler Butterfield achieved a terrific 14th place finish at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, Herring grabbed some glory of his own in the English capital.

Competing in the sprint category, run over half the distance of the traditional event, Herring came home in 1:13.19.

And when officials told him he had won he was understandably overjoyed, the gold medal quickly becoming a prize possession on his return home.

However, when he checked the event website a day or so later, Herring found out his time had actually been eclipsed by that of Bob Smith who came in at 1:11.15.

"There were actually two waves (of starters) with 400 people in the men's competition. I won my wave and was up on the podium and they gave me the gold medal.

"It was only when I looked on the internet two days later that I saw that I had come second. I wasn't too happy to say the least. I don't know how they got it mixed up," Herring said, before adding with a smile: "But I still have the gold."

With that performance in the bag, Herring is understandably on a high and he is hoping his form will continue this weekend when he takes part in the Wasaga Beach Triathlon near Toronto in Canada.

The event, billed as the Ontario-Quebec Junior Championships, will also see a host of other young Bermudians taking part under the banner of the TRex coaching programme, started this year by coach Dave Morrison.

"I really want to be strong throughout the whole race," said Herring as he looked ahead to racing in the 16 to 19 year-old category over a 750m swim, 20km cycle and 5km run. "There are 46 athletes in my race and I would like a top 20 finish.

"They are among the best in Canada and so if I could come in in the top 20 I would be very happy."

Herring has been competing in triathlon for seven years, but says he now wants "to take it to the next level".

"I want to go to the next Commonwealth Games, that's my ultimate goal," he said.

That is four years down the line in Melbourne, Australia but Herring has an equally important date just around the corner.

After the Bank of Bermuda Triathlon and the US Nationals, Herring, along with the aforementioned Butterfield, will be taking part in the World Championships in Cancun, Mexico in November.

But he knows he is not the finished article and will be found wanting in such a high calibre competition if he cannot excel in all three disciplines, cycling, running and swimming. Like Butterfield, it is the latter that needs the most attention.

"I have been focusing on my swim. I realise that in Cancun I have to have a really good swim," he said. "With that in mind I have been training at BASA pool where I am coached by Stephen Castree. He takes me three times a week and I train alongside Roy-Allan Burch who has just been to the Commonwealth Games."

Herring hopes he can emulate Butterfield - "not right now but maybe in a few years" - and believes that he, his brother Jonathan, Adam Petty and Jeffrey Smith, among others, have the makings of a good team.

"We have all grown up together," he said. "Tyler is definitely going to be out there winning major things and we are all going to be behind him. Bermuda could be a force to be reckoned with in a few years."