Bermuda triathletes Tyler Smith and Erica Hawley enjoyed differing fortunes in their respective elite-level races overseas at the weekend.

It proved a successful outing for Smith, who clinched his place on the podium in the Continental Cup, which formed part of the combined Americas Triathlon Cup and Central America and Caribbean Championships in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Lining up among a field of 51 athletes, the 24-year-old exited the water from the 750-metre swim in 8 min 42sec, clocked 25:35 on the 20-kilometre cycle and completed the 5km run in 14:26 for a combined time of 50:08, which was tenth overall but good enough for a second-place finish among the Central America and Caribbean Championship competitors.

“Nice to get on the podium, for the Caribbean and Central American Champs in Punta Cana,” Smith said on Instagram. “Our ‘race within the race’ at the Continental Cup provided an extra boost of motivation during an otherwise frustrating day,”

“I went all in to give myself a chance at the overall win, but the cushion I built up on the bike evaporated as I followed the lead moto [motorcycle official] the wrong way into the second transition.

“Realistically the gap would not have been enough to hold off most of the top runners anyway. Still, it was a pleasure to be able to represent Bermuda in our regional championships and to be back racing in the Caribbean.”

Hawley had a tougher race as she battled her way to 45th place in the second event of the World Triathlon Championship Series campaign in Japan.

Following on from the sprint-distance opener in Abu Dhabi in March, in which Hawley also finished 45th, her focus turned to the first Olympic distance race of the campaign in Yokohama.

Contesting with not only a stellar field of competitors, but also torrential rain, the 24-year-old completed the 1500-metre swim in 19min 43sec, clocked 1hr 2min on the 40-kilometre cycle and finished the 10km run in 36:24 for a combined time of 1:59:45.

Great Britain’s Sophie Coldwell clinched her maiden WTCS victory, building on a strong swim and bike, before running solo for the final 10km to cross the line in a winning time of 1:53:32, ahead of Mexico’s Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal, who claimed the first podium in the Series for her country since 2015, with Taylor Knibb, of the United States, completing the podium places.

“I’m still trying to process my race as a whole but trying to take as many positives from the race as I can; back to the drawing board,” said Hawley on Instagram.