Tyler Butterfield hailed Sunday as a great day for Bermuda triathlon after he backed up yet another Flora Duffy off-road victory with a sensational finish at the ITU Huatulco Triathlon World Cup in Mexico.

Duffy has been near-invincible since taking up the earthier form of triathlon and her almost nine-minute romp at the XTERRA East Championships on Brown’s Island, in Richmond, Virginia, completed a hat-trick of dominant displays on the American circuit.

For Butterfield to follow that hours later with a meritorious, eighth-place finish in his first International Triathlon Union (ITU) event since the London Olympics was remarkable — even more so given the conditions that the 31-year-old was subjected to.

While excited about clocking 2hr 3min 26sec for the 1.5-kilometre swim, 40km bike and 10km run — “My third-best ITU result ever at this level and a great start to to try to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics,” he said — Butterfield was fulsome in his praise for what Duffy had accomplished 1,900 miles north-east of Huatulco.

“It was a great day for Bermuda triathlon,” he said. “Flora is in great form and it is great to see her hard work pay off. Bermuda should be proud and a huge thank you to all the support Bermuda has given us. People really get behind us and keep us motivated to represent Bermuda well.”

Duffy, who virtually lapped the field in Lake Las Vegas (West Championships) and was also well clear in Pelham, Alabama (Southeast Championships), to go with an outstanding effort in the Asia- Pacific Championships, in New South Wales, Australia, got through her 1,000-metre swim, 32km mountain bike and 10km trail run in 2:35:36, with runner-up Emma Barnard well back in 2:44:23.

Suzie Snyder, in 2:45:52, completed an identical 1-2-3 finish to what occurred in Alabama.

Duffy’s joy over a commanding performance was compounded by her South African boyfriend, Dan Hugo, defending his title in the men’s race, this being the second “love double” for the pair after their exploits in Australia.

Butterfield knows a thing or two himself about winning partnerships, given that wife Nikki is a world-class triathlete in her own right. But for the time being, as she considers whether to re-enter the professional ranks after having their second child last year, Tyler is carrying the load on his own.

A competitive month in Bermuda proved to be the ideal training ground for the 86F temperatures and high humidity that Butterfield would encounter in Mexico. He won the Appleby Bermuda Half Marathon Derby, the Catlin Bermuda National Triathlon Championships and the Tokio Millennium Sprint Triathlon, as well as making appearances on the cycling circuit — all with a smile on his face.

That smile was evident again on Sunday as the road signs to Rio became more visible on his return to international competition.

“I’m very excited with my finish,” he said. “It is a very positive sign, but I am under no illusion that it will be an easy task over the next two years. This is just a good start to a long road ahead.”

After departing the water in 52nd position in a 59-strong elite field, Butterfield spent a good portion of the race among the front-runners, if not in the lead.

By the end of the first lap of the cycle, he had improved nine places and took over the lead halfway through the eight-lap circuit.

The cycling specialist opened a ten-second lead at one point in an attempted breakaway before he was reeled in by the pack so that, even though he finished the second phase in first place after a 1:06:44 bike that was the best in the field, he started off fourth on the 10km run owing to a 29-second transition.

In stifling temperatures for the run, Butterfield shuffled between fourth and seventh place on the first three of four laps before he was pushed into eighth by Danylo Sapunov, of Ukraine. The race was won by Luciano Taccone, of Argentina, in 2:01:58, with the Italian Davide Uccellari ten seconds behind in a sprint finish with Aurélien Lescure, of France.

“I am very pleased with the day and will take the result, but I know there is still a lot of work to do,” Butterfield added. “I must improve as the next two-year qualification period progresses.”

But for now the two-times Olympian is on course to make his Olympic experience a treble.

For full results, see http://www.triathlon.org/results/result/2014_huatulco_itu_triathlon_world_cup/264351