Tyler Butterfield’s family background in sport was impeccable as both his parents competed at a high level. His father Jim Butterfield rowed for Bermuda at the 1972 Olympic Games, switched to distance running and placed 17th in the Marathon at the 1978 Commonwealth Games before making a final switch to the triathlon where he placed 7th at the 1981 edition of the classic Hawaii Ironman. Tyler’s mother Debbie Butterfield was Bermuda’a top marathon runner of the 1980’s who placed 4th in the 1985 Boston Marathon and recorded a personal best of 2:38 the same year. Another member of the family, his cousin Ashley Couper-Estwanik, was a finalist in the women’s 1500 m at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
After debuting at the 2001 World Triathlon Championships Butterfield picked up the bronze medal in the junior race at the 2002 event and was selected for the Commonwealth Games in Manchester where he placed a respectable 14th out of 34.
He was the youngest triathlete at the 2004 Olympic Games and finished 34th despite a poor swim. Butterfield followed his father’s lead and switched sports after Athens to specialize in cycling. He placed 11th in the Commonwealth Games road race and won a stage of the Tour of Guadeloupe in 2006 then joined the professional Team Slipstream for the 2007 season but after a failed attempt to qualify for the Beijing Games he turned his attention to Ironman triathlons. He is married to Nikki Egyed who has represented her homeland of Australia at the World Road Cycling Championships.
Bermuda