Ethiopia’s Tesfaye Dube captured the KPMG Bermuda Invitational Elite Men’s Mile but it was the home grown talent of Chayce Smith who stole the show.Smith crossed the finish line in third to become the first Bermudian to stand on the podium in this event since Mike Watson achieved the feat years ago when it was then referred to as the DJ Williams Mile and staged at the National Sports Centre.The 24-year-old runner stopped the clock at 4:20.6 to shave over three tenths of a second off his previous fastest time in the Elite Mile.Smith’s journey to the podium proved to be an adventurous one as he chased eventual winner Dube around the racecourse in heavy traffic and adverse conditions.“The Ethiopian (Dube) was zig zagging all over the place and had a rabbit (fellow compatriot Fikadu Lamma) who was basically pacing the race,” he said.The Bermudian also had his work cut out for him in the form of American Steve Slattery and Canada’s Timothy Konoval who both ran aggressively.“They were bumping me up a little,” added Smith. “It was a different kind of race.”Among those heaping praise on the college student were former running star Watson and track and field coach Cal Simons.“Bermudians should be very proud of what Chayce done tonight,” Watson said. “It wasn’t a big field but he did the job and got on the podium so you have to give him credit for that.”Simons added: “I thought Chayce ran extremely well. He prepared himself and everything else and I just want to congratulate him because he did a really good job representing himself and Bermuda.”Ethiopian Dube led from start to finish en route to capturing the crown and the $2,000 winner’s prize in the absence of defending champion Philip Lagat who had to withdrew after missing his flight out of his native Kenya.Like his rivals, Dube also found the wet and windy conditions challenging.“The conditions were not good and it was a difficult race,” he said. “It was hard to run a fast time in these conditions but I am very happy.”Dube, who is also competing in tomorrow’s marathon, covered the course in 4:19 and was closely followed by American Slattery (4:20.4) in second.Earlier, Bermuda’s Gary Raynor (4:38.4) led from start to finish to successfully defend his crown in the Open Men’s Mile.The former footballer was delighted to retain his title but was far from satisfied with his time on the night.“I’m not happy with the time,” he said. “I was really going out and had something lower in mind.“When I saw the conditions, especially with the wet roads and what not, I decided to take it easier on the corners and I lost a lot of ground there.“I tried to make it up on the corners . . . but it just wasn’t there and there was a lot of slipping.”Policeman and footballer referee Steven Allen (4:48.3) and Christopher Harris (4:52.0) rounded off the podium finishers among the Open Mile field.