Erica Hawley registered her fastest time in the 5km split after recording 16min 33sec at the World Triathlon Cup Rio de Janeiro in Brazil on Sunday.

Hawley finished the sprint-distance eighteenth in the elite women’s field with a combined time of 59:32, 1:19 behind race winner, Zuzana Michalickova, of Slovakia, who crossed the finish line in 58:13.

“It’s one of my fastest 5K times, which I have to take as a positive,” Hawley said.

“The water was really choppy and I struggled, but I ran well and I'm happy with that. I learnt a lot from the race and felt like there were still positives to take away.”

Earlier, the Bermudian had completed the 750-metre swim in 11:05 and the 20km bike ride in 30:54. Prior to Sunday, Hawley’s fastest time over the 5km leg of a triathlon was the 16:45 she achieved at the World Triathlon Cup Napier in February 2024.

“Initially, I felt like the race was maybe a disappointment,“ she said.

“But on reflection, I am really happy with it and I still feel like I had a good run. I think I was kicking myself because I went pretty hard for about 4K and I bridged a gap.

“I was maybe in twelfth position, then I feel like the race caught up to me, a bunch of girls passed me and I ended up eighteenth.

“I think in Edmonton, I didn’t win the sprint. So I went earlier in the run and tried to push it harder midway through and I think I paid for it.

“In the swim, it was really wavy and there was a lot of panic with a bunch of girls swimming on top of each other. I just didn’t get that getaway speed that I needed.”

Hawley headed to Rio de Janeiro after finishing an impressive sixth at the World Triathlon Cup Edmonton. There is no rest for the 28-year-old as her next race is coming up on Sunday when she competes at the World Triathlon Cup Asuncion in Paraguay.

“I’ll focus on recovering and racing next week in Asuncion,” she said.

“I’ll meet Tyler Smith out there, which I’m excited about. That’ll be the end of the four-week block, which has been great. I definitely find it tough being on the road for four weeks at a time.”