A deepening brotherly rivalry and a classy rebound highlighted Sunday?s National Sprint Triathlon Championships at Clearwater Beach.

Evan Naude claimed the men?s title in one hour, five minutes and 22 seconds ? a full minute ahead of his twin, Riaan, while Norbert Meyer finished the 750-metre swim, 20K bike and 5K run in 1:09:58 to place third.

Bouncing back from a horrible May 24 Marathon Derby ? in which she crashed out at Cavendish Heights ? Karen Smith grabbed top honours in the women?s division in one hour, ten minutes, 58 seconds, coasting to fifth place overall.

She was well ahead of runner-up Joanna Shillington (1:19:43) and Caroline Mitchell who was third in 1:25:04.

Her victory stemmed from an impressive swim, followed by a solid bike ? despite challenging windy conditions ? and a steady run.

?Obviously May 24 was a disastrous race for me. I dehydrated and I pushed it a bit too hard and I couldn?t cope and basically my body shut down,? said Smith who was in third place among the women when she pulled out.

?I put that behind me and began to look at the triathlon. I raced well yesterday (Sunday) though it was tough because there were a lot of people ? more than we normally have in a race. I had a nice finishing run. I didn?t try to over-exert myself.?

It was the versatile competitor?s fourth win in the sprint event and the 37-year-old led the individual women?s race from the start.

Meanwhile, up front a pitched battle was developing between the South African twins who are consistently stamping their class on such events. As expected, the men had been led out of the water by youngsters Coyatito Smith and Matthew Godfrey, but the gap was quickly narrowed on the bike as the Naudes assumed control, making it a two-man tussle.

Evan, who got a slim advantage on Riaan in the swim, then managed to hold the latter off on the bike and maintain his lead in the run.

?I?m very happy. My brother beat me three weeks ago in a Power Sport sprint triathlon so to get one back on him is very good,? said 28-year-old Evan.

Already mapping out a strategy for revenge, Riaan said he was ?fairly satisfied? though he would have liked to have performed better on the run.

?I?m very competitive and I always like to beat my brother. We?ve got a good rivalry going. Yesterday he got the better of me. We have a Half Iron Man triathlon in Victoria, Canada, in two weeks? time so I?ll try to beat him there,? vowed the runner-up.

Coyatito Smith went on to finish a creditable sixth overall in 1:12:40, while Matthew Godfrey was forced out by bike problems and a back injury.

Finishing seventh overall in 1:13:59 was junior Dorian Armstrong, who won the13-15 age group after a dramatic battle with fellow juniors, Thomas Godfrey and Marc Smith. While Godfrey and Smith pushed the bike leg and opened a lead on Armstrong, the latter ? who is Marathon Derby champion Terrance Armstrong?s nephew ? showed his running pedigree and quickly passed his rivals less than halfway through the run.

Other age group winners in the men?s division were Bermuda Triathlon Association president Steve Petty (50-plus, 11th overall, 1:17:38) and Andrew Doble (40-49, 13th overall, 1:18:57).

Age group winners in the women?s division were Lea Osborne (40-49, 24th overall, 1:25:31), Midge Oliver (50-plus, 37th overall, 1:36:50) and Amy Fox (13-15, 39th overall, 1:38:01).

The sprint field was also swelled by a record 37 teams battling it out for trophies in Open, Company and Female divisions.

The first team home was Ian Maule, Garth Thomson and Kim McMullen (swimmer, cyclist, runner, respectively) in 1:05:29, to win the Open category. Second were ?Mixed Nuts?, another Open team comprising Nick Strong, Khamari Greaves and Richard van Lienden in 1:08:49.

Finishing fifth overall, the AWAC team of Paul DeGuilo, Wayne Dill and Leon Bascome won the Company division and the special trophy for the top team from the insurance industry.

The ?Last Minute Ladies? (Hayley Hill, Hilary Evans-Turner and Rose Jones) were anything but, winning the Female team trophy and finishing 15th overall in 1:17:34.