Jonathan Herring continued from where he left off last season, opening the 2000 triathlon campaign with a victory during Saturday's Tri Gatorade Individual Sprint race at Clearwater Beach.

A year ago Herring was foiled by a wrong turn during the cycle portion.

However, there would be no such gaffes on this occasion and fortunately so, as he could ill-afford to waste any time with Tim Dewailly pressing his heels throughout.

In the end it was a wire-to-wire triumph, something which stood well with Herring, who showed the benefit of some intense winter training to finish in a time of one hour, five minutes, 39 seconds.

Meanwhile, a game Dewailly paid the price for trying to match Herring on the cycle, fading towards the end before breaking the tape in 1:09:22. Nick Taylor placed third in 1:11:49.

"Tim Dewailly is a very strong swimmer, so I went into it knowing that if I wanted to have a good start I had to swim with him,'' said Herring. "I had a wet-suit whereas he didn't and the wet-suits do give you quite a big advantage and I actually managed to finish the swim just ahead of him, which was a good start to the race.

"Tim went out real hard on the bike and tried to stick with me, which was a bit of a mistake because he kind of died towards the end. But he put in a good show and made me work very hard. I wasn't sure of his capabilities because he's in school in Canada and I haven't seen him in a while.'' The 17-year-old has worked hard during the winter months honing his skills, particularly on the run, which has been his weakest discipline.

"I had a good winter where I increased my running and, while I may not run as much as most people, it's still a lot for me. Last year a 5K felt like an endurance event, but this year it's very easy and I never felt it was easy until now. So with the confidence I now have in the run it makes the entire triathlon seem easier so I can really work it.'' The female race was even more closely fought, with Karen Smith and Laurie Orchard battling tooth and nail throughout. At the end Smith's superior speed on the run saw her take home the top prize in a time of 1:12:20, with last year's winner Orchard falling back to third as young Ashley Robinson Roberts also overhauled her in the final phase, placing second in 1:16:26. Orchard's time was 1:16:40.

"I feel really great this early in the season to have a great swim and a great bike,'' said Smith, who still possessed enough energy to return yesterday and take part in the team event. "I'm right on track for where I want to be right now and it just feels great to be right there at this time of the year.

"It was really close, Laurie came out of the water right behind me -- within seconds -- and she was quick in the transition where I'm a little slow and she took off slightly ahead of me on the bike. But we were right with each other on the bike the whole way, where I would lead and then she would lead and it was back and forth. It was on the run when it came down to who would win the race and I was a little quicker.'' Youth was served during yesterday's team triathlon at the same venue, with the Saltus trio of cyclist Matthew Herring, runner Mark Morrison and swimmer Graham Smith the class of a disappointingly diminished field, winning in two hours, six minutes, 55 seconds.

Bermuda national squad member Smith gave the threesome a solid advantage with a superb opening swim leg of 18 minutes, 18 seconds, and while Herring (1:13:49 cycle) gave some of that back to the field, Morrison (34:48) assured victory with a strong run. The team of Nick Taylor (22:12), Richard Mason (1:11:31) and Anna Eatherley (35:01) managed second in 2:08:44, with Duncan Newby (23:27), Ted Temple (1:10:13) and David Ferguson (37:12) combining for third overall in 2:11:22.

"It was really calm today and the wet-suit I had on really helped me get through the water,'' said Smith, readying for a swim trip to Canada with the national squad. "Mike O'Conner was right behind me and he really pushed me into a bigger lead.'' Drawing probably the stiffest task, Herring battled the notorious crosswinds at Kindley Field, holding off a determined challenge from Temple.

Said Herring: "It was really tough riding, the winds were pushing us back the whole way. Graham really gave us a big lead and I tried to keep it the whole way, but Ted Temple pulled back a lot.'' It was then left to Morrison, who initially allowed Eatherley to shorten the gap before picking up pace over the last two laps.

An added feature this year was the duathlon on Saturday, which was won by Morrison in 1:15:15, while Karen Adams (1:16:00) topped the female list.

Among the Ironkids 7-10 division Timothy Fox placed first in 18 minutes 16 seconds followed by Ricky Sousa (18:27) and Justin Collis (18:46).

Richard Collis took the 11-14 section in 34:51, with Gregory Rose (35:16) second and Oliver Kempe (36:09) third. Leading the advanced 11-14 group was Tyler Abbott (47:52) followed by Adam Petty (49:02) and Matthew Jones (55:45).

Full results, see Scoreboard Jonathan Herring: led sprint triathlon from start to finish.