Tennis superstar Patrick Rafter may be a world-class athlete - but he got more than he bargained for when he accepted a triathlon challenge from a plucky 14-year-old Bermudian.

Cheeky teenager Adam Petty dared the two-time US Open champion he could beat him to the finishing line over the 200-metre swim, five-mile bike ride and one-mile run distance that Petty races regularly in local Ironkids competition.

Rafter accepted - and lost by more than three minutes.

The 28-year-old Australian, who lives on the Island, is a triathlon novice and the challenge against young Petty took place in a fun sprint triathlon, run weekly by the Bermuda Triathlon Association.

Rafter finished fifth in last Thursday's event at Clearwater Beach, behind winner Matthew Herring, second-placed Petty, Andrew Doble and Chris Harkness.

The Aussie reached his second successive Wimbledon final just two weeks ago, showing the aggressive style of tennis that involves frequently hurling himself around at the net and that has earned him the reputation as one of the most gifted athletes on the ATP Tour.

But young Petty was clearly unfazed by that big reputation.

Adam's father Steven Petty said the challenge had come about after family friend Rafter, who has known Adam for six years, had been out on the water with the youngster.

"We went out (water) skiing one day and we had a swimming race back to the dock," said Adam. "I saw he was quite good, so I said, 'you want to do a triathlon' and he said, 'sure'."

"No I didn't," said Rafter, whose version was slightly different.

"I went down there for a workout, as much as anything, and he said, 'will you challenge me?' and I said, 'how much money?'

"But I was never realistic about challenging for money. I know Adam's pretty good at it, I've seen the paper clippings. And this was my first triathlon.

"But even if I trained for a while, I don't think I'd ever be able to beat the little fella. He's pretty good."

Adam added: "His specialisation is obviously in tennis, so I didn't know how good he would be in triathlon. I just wanted to see, so I thought I'd challenge him."

But the lingering question remained. Did Rafter let his young friend win? He baulked at the suggestion.

"Oh my God, no!" said Rafter. "I went as hard as I could. I went flat out and gave it everything I had. But he beat me by three or four minutes."

The 25 or so competitiors in the race were a mixture of beginners, youngsters and experienced triathletes, and it was seen by around 30 to 40 people, some of whom were visitors to the Island and were shocked to see the tennis megastar competing.

"Most of the people there were very excited," said Steven Petty. "The tourists could not believe they were seeing this person for real."

Some of the Island's top triathletes often use the weekly fun event as part of their training, but Bermuda's best were away last week at the World Triathlon Championships in Edmonton.

So was Adam, a strong all-round sportsman who won the Denton Hurdle Middle School Award last year, surprised he had beaten a world-class athlete?

"No," was the cocksure youth's blunt answer.

Rafter had no doubt about which part of the race had decided the challenge in the youngster's favour.

"The transition, he did me, big time," said the Aussie. "And he was very strong in the swim."

Rafter has wide sporting interests on the relatively rare occasions he is able to spend time on the Island between lengthy spells travelling to tournaments all over the world.

"Triathlon is a good workout. It's good cross-training for tennis," he said. "We have big games of soccer and Adam plays in those as well.

"I try to do all different sorts of exercises and this is a great place to do it. The weather's good and everyone's sports crazy. I also do a a bit of swimming in the ocean and some weight training. I play golf as well, but that's not part of my training - more part of my mental training."

Rafter flies out to Montreal tomorrow to compete in the Canadian Open, the first event of the North American hard-court season which leads up to the US Open.

He has stated publicly he intends to take six months off from tennis after next January's Australian Open. Then he will make a decision whether to retire from the Tour.