whittled down to four when Dyrone Minors, Adam Smith and Melanie Claude withdrew this week.

Smith, one of the Island's premier triathletes, will be returning to his university studies in California while Claude will be unable to compete because she is expecting a baby next March.

It is not known why Minors scratched himself off the list and he was not available for comment yesterday since he was arranging details for his father's funeral.

That leaves just Neil de Ste. Croix, Steve Donnelly, Mark Glusing and Shona Palmer going head-to-head against some of the world's best triathletes here on September 24.

Smith, however, is apparently willing to return from California if organisers are prepared to pay for his airfare.

That decision will have to be made by Bermuda Triathlon Association (BTA) president Mark Edmunds, who is currently off the Island. But one source said yesterday it was unlikely the BTA would foot the bill.

Claude has been a trailblazer among local women this year, finishing second in both qualifiers for the ITU World Cup.

"I just thought it was a great opportunity as far as being able to compete with the elite,'' said Claude yesterday. "I think my ultimate goal was to try to improve my times, or get as close to them as possible. I heard I could have done quite well.'' She was also the women's champion in the National Duathlon Championships in June and finished a respectable fourth in her age group during last weekend's Mrs. T's Triathlon in Chicago.

Claude, in fact, intends to compete in the upcoming Snickers Sprint and Bank of Bermuda triathlons later this fall.

"I'm obviously not going to do them in record time,'' she said.

Armed with a personal best time of two hours and 21 minutes, Claude will also participate in the World Championships in Cancun in November.

During the World Cup, which consists of a 1.5K swim, 40K bike and 10K run, Claude would have had an opportunity to compete against top professionals like former world champion Karen Smyers. Also confirmed for the women's field is world number one Isabelle Mouthon of France.

Melanie Claude