Entries may have been down and last year's champions may have been among the missing, but Karen Madeiros, race director of the Bank of Bermuda Foundation Individual Triathlon, said these facts should take nothing away from the performances of Sunday's winners.

Speaking the morning after Kris Hedges and Flora Duffy grabbed the glory at Albouy's Point, Madeiros said the fact that numbers were slightly down was due to the ongoing effects of Hurricane Fabian.

"The numbers were not significantly down, but certainly there was a decrease," said Madeiros. "We had, I think, 85 adult entries last year and 75 this year.

"The kids numbers were down maybe at least 20 entries. I think that was probably due to Hurricane Fabian, schools not being in and kids not being able to train down at Clearwater.

"It makes it difficult for the younger kids, particularly, because there isn't anywhere for them to safely practice their cycling. Clearwater provides somewhat of an open stretch for them and it wasn't accessible for a couple of weeks and it is still sort of a mess down there.

"We were unable to have the Tri-Hedz club on Saturday mornings and so I think that has made a significant impact on our numbers this year."

On the senior side, both Matthew Herring and Karen Smith, winners of the male and female categories last year, the latter having won the event on the previous four occasions, did not make the start.

Their non-appearances through injury were understandable but there were also no shows from the likes of last year's male runner-up Kent Richardson and the Island's number one triathlete, Tyler Butterfield, who was present but only in spectator capacity.

"Matthew Herring had an injury and Karen Smith was also injured, Kent Richardson I think is just focusing on cycling right now but other than that pretty much the top folks were there except for the winners from last year," Madeiros said.

She said those facts did not detract from the achievements of Hedges and youngster Geoffrey Smith, winner and runner-up in the male category, and Duffy, the women's champion.

"Everyone has their turn and there's a time for everybody," Madeiros said.

"It was good to see Flora win, and especially as she is a junior," she added of the 15-year-old's maiden triumph.

"She is setting a very high standard for the up and coming youngsters. Not just in racing, but overall she is a really good role model for these kids."

Referring to the fact that she has been second and third in the previous two years, Madeiros said it was "really good to see her actually be the bride as opposed to being the bridesmaid all the time".

"That was really what she needed as far as being a boost for her training," she said. "She is sort of on her own right now. There aren't any other girls her age who are training and it's tough to do that when you are on your own."

Madeiros also singled out Smith's performance in pushing Hedges.

"Geoffrey is just phenomenal," she said. "You look at him and he is pretty unassuming because he is so thin and you don't think of him as being a major contender, but every year he comes out and he is just phenomenal, he really is."

Madeiros said the ability of the youngsters helped spur the adults on as well.

"I think it's really good for the older folks and we certainly appreciate the effort that goes into training for races," she said. "These kids have a lot of other things on their plate, school, exams and homework and things, and they are still able to balance it all."

Next Sunday sees the Team Triathlon at the same venue.