event this weekend, but the Island's top triathlete has not given up hope of being fit for the world championships.

The 16-year-old is suffering from mononucleosis, or glandular fever, and so his plans to take part in a US Junior National Championship event in Mexico on Saturday have been scuppered.

Butterfield has already qualified for the Bermuda team to compete in September's World Triathlon Championships in Montreal, Canada.

At last month's US World Championship qualifier in Clermont, he turned in an exceptional performance to win the 16 to 19 age group.

But it was on his return from that trip that Butterfield first realised something was wrong.

"When I got back from the States I had an infection in my throat and the next day I went to the doctor's and they found out I had glandular fever as well,'' said Butterfield.

"It makes you tired, it makes your glands well up sometimes and there's nothing you can do about it except rest.'' In the four weeks since then, Butterfield has missed a chance to compete against international competition in Leamington, Canada, and has been unable to train -- though he admitted he had tried.

"After three weeks of it, I started to feel a bit better so I went for a bike ride, then a swim on Monday and runs on Tuesday and Wednesday. But then I started feeling tired again, so I had to rest again,'' said Butterfield.

Doctors have told Butterfield the effects of the illness could last up to two months, which would put his world championship plans in jeopardy, but he did not rule himself out of the Montreal trip.

"I am not positive if I will go to the worlds or not, but I am not giving up hope yet,'' he said.

Dedicated training has been an integral part of Butterfield's life and the key to him rising to the rank of the Island's top triathlete at such a young age.

And he said that this, the longest lay-off from training through illness or injury he could remember, was a thoroughly unpleasant experience.

"It's really frustrating,'' he said. "I sit here looking at my bike and I know I can't go out on it.

"I've taken time off before, but I have never done nothing for so long. But it's not too bad, because the illness makes me feel too tired to train most of the time anyhow.

"Sometimes I feel like I've got the energy to go out and have a go, but I know that energy is only going to last 10 or 15 minutes.'' Butterfield and Jonathan Herring have accepted the Bermuda Triathlon Association's offer to join their newly created Exceptional Athlete Programme.

The BTA's EAP is part of an overall effort to improve standards amongst Bermuda's competitive triathletes which includes standards and criteria to represent Bermuda at both senior and junior level. The two talented 16-year-olds were selected after agreeing to meet the criteria laid out by the BTA which includes a requirement that they compete for Bermuda in major regional or world championships in each calendar year and also that they maintain an advanced and carefully thought out training programme.

The BTA will be providing the athletes with financial support and assisting them in seeking out sponsors. Herring leads charge, Page 16 Hopeful: Tyler Butterfield