A group of Bermudian athletes produced a series of superb performances at the Great Floridian Triathlon Festival over the weekend in the face of record temperatures.

Jason Correia and Spencer Conway both completed the gruelling Florida Ironman ? involving a 2.7 mile swim, a 112-mile cycle and a full 26.2 mile marathon ? with Correia finishing 30th overall out of 265 male participants in a time of 12 hours, 25 minutes and 11 seconds.

Correia ? who finished first in the 20-24 age group ? exited the water in 129th place after completing the swim in 1:31.21, before a 6:54.23 bike ride saw him shoot up to 109th.

It was his strength on the run that really made the difference, however, as this year?s 31st-placed finisher in the Bank of Bermuda Triathlon surged up the field with a marathon time of 3:48.46 ? just under nine-minute-mile pace.

Conway, meanwhile, finished 33 places below Correia in 63rd ? though he was well ahead of his compatriot after the swim, completing the 2.7 miles in an impressive 1:09.59 which put him in 32nd place overall.

And he maintained the momentum on the tough cycle course, finishing it in 6:39.05, though by that stage, intense humidity and temperatures of over 90 degrees had taken their toll on Conway, whose marathon time of 4:59.44 cost him his lead over Correia and a potential place in the top 40.

Meanwhile, three women with thoughts of doing the Brazil Ironman in the early part of next year settled for half that distance on Saturday ? though their impressive showing will have convinced them they have it in them to meet one of the stiffest physical challenges on earth.

Karen Smith produced a sensational performance to place third overall in the women?s event, taking 5:13.52 to finish the race ? just under nine minutes ahead of friend and rival Karen Bordage who finished fourth in 5:22.35.

Julia Hawley placed 17th in 5:46.24 while further down the field Carolyn Conway crossed the finish line in 42nd in 6:22.04 and Kim Mason in 7:09.31 to place 83rd.

In the Super Sprints, meanwhile, Julia Hawley?s 14-year-old daughter Claire came first in her age group, taking 1:01.19 to tackle the quarter of a mile swim, eight-mile bike ride and two-mile run.

?All of us were very happy with the results, particularly given the incredible heat,? said Smith, who until the weekend had only raced a half Ironman once before.

?I?m sure we all went into the weekend with an idea of what times we wanted to put in, but those had to be adjusted when we realised quite how hot it was.

?From my perspective I had no idea going into the race how well I could do and I was just trying to keep up a comfortable pace because if you go out too fast over that sort of distance you can get yourself into some real trouble.

?So to come third overall surprised me a little bit but obviously I?m delighted. But a lot of credit should go to both Spencer and Jason because to complete an Ironman in that kind of heat was exceptional.?