and 27th overall at the Pan American Triathlon Championships held in Clairmont, Florida.

The tall Bermudian, who seems to get better with age, rebounded from a disastrous prior performance at the Danon Yogurt Duathlon in Orlando, where he rode off the course, losing his way and failing to finish.

This time the compass served him well as Richardson clocked 2:15:11, trailing only American Mark Jacobs in the 40-44 age group. Jacobs clocked 2:14:11 over the Olympic course, which included a mile swim, 24-mile bike and six-mile run.

Daniel Domingo was the overall winner in 2:01.

"It was really good for me,'' said Richardson. "The field wasn't strong, with about 13 or 14 guys (in my age group), but overall I was 27th out of just about 600 people. It was the North and South American Championships, so there was a nice flair about it.

"The course was extremely difficult, especially the bike course, so nobody had any record-breaking times. My coach had told me to forget about the watch and go out and put in a good effort.

"It was just a great effort and it is the Pan-Am championships, so hey it's a great result for me.'' The 42-year-old regarded the event as a tune-up to the St. Anthony's Triathlon on April 28, which is expected to have several other Bermudians, including Karen Smith and Peter Davis, in the field.

Some 100 young local athletes representing 11 schools are due to take part in today's West End Athletic Club 5K and track meet at National Stadium.

Activities get underway at 9.00 a.m. with the five kilometre road race for those 16 and older, while the track portion commences an hour later and is open to children of all ages.

An added feature for the youngsters will be the presence of several former Bermuda Olympians, who will be assisting with the running of the event.

"We've had a great reaction from our local schools,'' said Clarence Smith, president of the West End Athletic Club. "With 11 schools definitely taking part, we hope that parents and friends come along and give them strong support. They are our future national athletes, we need to show them how much that means to us.''