Bermuda's leading triathlete Tyler Butterfield is set to represent the Island at this year's Commonwealth Games and the Junior World Championships - and he has goals for both of those competitions.

"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 from his training base in Australia.

"The competition is going to be very hard. I expect the Olympic champion, Simon Whitfield of Canada, and other big names to be there. 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."

"For the Junior Worlds I feel I have a chance at a top ten place and even a medal. I'm quite keen on that one," added Butterfield, explaining that the latter meet will use the sprint distances as opposed to the Olympic distances for triathlons.

This means that in the Junior Worlds he will face a 750-metre swim, a 20-kilometre cycle and a five-kilometre run whereas in the Commonwealth Games - which uses the Olympic standard - all those distances will be doubled.

Butterfield is not sure when he qualified for these major events but confirmed that the Bermuda Triathlon Association (BTA) had written to him stating he had been nominated for the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, in August and the Junior World Championships in Cancun, Mexico, in November.

"Last year at the junior worlds I did a 1:55 but I am not sure they can use that because it's so far back. I also did a 2:02 in an Olympic distance triathlon here in November so between the two of those I've qualified for the Commonwealth Games," he said.

Having graduated from Southport School last November, the 19-year-old has dedicated 2002 to serious training to assess if he can adjust to life as a professional triathlete. So far, so good, he said, of the transition.

"This year is a test for me to see how I like the lifestyle of a professional triathlete. It's not easy. You only get one day off a week - and that's if you're lucky. Saturdays and Sundays are no different to Mondays or Tuesdays.

"I like it. It's fun, though it gets a bit `same old, same old' training every day," said the Bermudian whose workouts start at 5 a.m. daily.

Thus far, Butterfield is seeing the results of the hard work he is putting in under the tutelage of Bill Daveron - Australia's assistant national triathlon coach.

On February 18, he placed second overall and first in the junior elite division in a race in Canberra. Two weekends ago, he won the Open division in another triathlon.

Come March 17, he will make his professional debut in the Accenture Series in Devonport, Tasmania, and follow this up with another race in the same series in Geelong, Australia, on April 1. Then, on April 21, he will compete in the Australian Triathlon Championships in Mooloolaba before flying to the United States for his first outing on the World Cup circuit. The latter will give him a chance to earn points towards a world ranking.

"I'm excited but a bit nervous," he confessed about rubbing shoulders with the big guns in his sport.

Butterfield will compete at home during the summer but he is not sure how long he will be in Bermuda.

"I'm coming home after the US and I'll definitely be competing. I haven't looked at the schedule of races but I'll be doing the bike racing and the running and as many triathlons as possible," he said.

Given his full attention to training, the rising star surmised that "I am probably the fittest I have ever been".

His triathlon future, he noted, hinged on him maintaining this fitness and his interest in the sport.

"I'm basing it all off this year - to see how I can handle the training, if I don't get sick or injured and if I like it. It's a lot different when you train whenever you want than when you have a programme and you have to follow it. It used to be my hobby but now it's my job," he said. "The big thing for me is - if this year goes well - to try and line up some more World Cup races in 2003 and get a world ranking and then, in 2004, hopefully get a spot in the Olympics."

Butterfield enjoyed another impressive performance Down Under over the weekend when he placed third overall in a top class field in the third race of the Queensland Triathlon Series, which also served as the Queensland Sprint Championships.

The race in Wynnum, over a 750 metre swim, 20K cycle and 5K run, drew more than 460 competitors.

Australian Paul Matthews took home the top prize, clocking 53:09.

Matthews, winner of last year's ITU Age-Group World Championships and Australia's junior duathlon champion in 2000, was 24 seconds clear of Alan Moran in second place, with Butterfield close behind.

Pre-race favourite Levi Maxwell, who led out of the water, lost a few places on the bike and had dropped out of the top five by the finish. The race also featured a contingent of eight Canadian elite triathletes who have been training in Australia recently.