Tyler Smith and Kristen Robinson dedicated their first National Triathlon Championships titles to Emma Norman, who died from cancer last year at the age of 33.

Olympian Smith completed the 1.5 mile swim, 40km bike and 10km run in 1hr 51min 45sec to claim overall honours, while Robinson was the first female across the line in 2hr 31min 16sec in the event at Clearwater Beach on Sunday.

After securing victories in their respective divisions for the first time, Smith and Robinson both paid tribute to Norman, who was a huge part of the triathlon community.

“This event is to memorialise Emma so it’s great to be a part of,” said Smith, who had never previously competed in a national championship over the Olympic distance.

“It’s great the whole event is dedicated to her and, when the going gets tough, you have to remember it’s a just a sport at the end of the day and there are bigger things.

“It’s great that we can have this event to pay tribute to her and hopefully keep it going and keep her memory in everyone's mind.

“She meant a lot to this community because it was a young woman who lost her life early. It’s one of those things which shows that you can’t take any of these days for granted.

“The triathlon community is very close knit so it hits home when you see something like that, and you never take a day for granted and your good health for granted.

“That’s something I’ve learnt even with minor injuries, that every day is a blessing that you can do sport and be excited.”

Robinson added: “I am very honoured because Emma was a dear friend of mine and the whole race I was racing for her, so very powerful.

“I was thinking on the run I had the privilege of doing her last bike ride together before she fell ill, so that ride will always hold a place in my heart.”

Smith, who competed at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, was pleased with his overall performance after only arriving home 48 hours earlier.

“Coming in with the travel and quite a lot going on this week, it was just nice to get a solid performance down and feel well within control, which usually isn’t the case in the racing that you do overseas,” he said.

“I was happy with my swim. My bike actually got in last night, so it was like do what I can and t to ride within myself.

“I was really pleased with my run on a pretty twisty course. I felt pretty well within control, which bodes well in this little block in the lead-up to the Bermuda Half Marathon. The running is in good form and let’s see what we can do.”

Jackson Langley (2:01:15) and Mike Evans (2:11:46) were the second and third male finishers respectively.

Canadian Robinson, who used the race as a warm up for an upcoming Half Ironman in her homeland this summer, also gave her performance the thumbs-up.

“I wanted to use this as a good indicator as to how my training was, so I am happy,” she said.

“I feel like I could've pushed myself a little harder on the run, but it is what it is and I felt great and got my time that I wanted, so it's good.

“I miss some of my competitors that didn't show up like Maddie Durkin (defending champion), Ashley Couper, Louise Wells and Christine Dunkley, but that’s OK.”

Victory was especially sweet for the 40-year-old mother of two as it was also her first in Bermuda since arriving on island 13 years ago.

“It feels super awesome and having Olympian Tyler Smith as the national champ is amazing too,” she said.

“It was an awesome race and the conditions were amazing. Everyone did so well and it was a great field out there.”

Nicole Mitchell (2:42:47) and Georgia Evans (2:46:36) crossed in second and third to round off the podium finishers in the women’s field.