Olympic triathlon: Duffy wins first gold for Bermuda as Britain’s Taylor-Brown gets silver

Flora Duffy made Olympic history on Tuesday, winning the women's triathlon in Tokyo to give the tiny island of Bermuda its first-ever gold medal.

Published : Jul 27, 2021 08:35 IST , TOKYO

Flora Duffy of Team Bermuda celebrates winning the gold medal during the Women's Individual Triathlon on day four of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Odaiba Marine Park.
Flora Duffy of Team Bermuda celebrates winning the gold medal during the Women's Individual Triathlon on day four of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Odaiba Marine Park.
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Flora Duffy of Team Bermuda celebrates winning the gold medal during the Women's Individual Triathlon on day four of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Odaiba Marine Park.

Flora Duffy made Olympic history on Tuesday, winning the women's triathlon in Tokyo to give the tiny island of Bermuda its first-ever gold medal.

The 33-year-old timed 1hr 55min 36sec to come home more than a minute ahead of Britain's Georgia Taylor-Brown (1:56.50), with American Katie Zaferes (1:57.03) taking the bronze.

"I have achieved my dream of winning a gold medal, but also winning Bermuda's first gold medal," she said.

"It's bigger than me and that's a really cool moment. That was the longest kilometre of my life (the final one of the run).

"I think I can get used to being called Olympic champion for the rest of my life."

Duffy's success makes Bermuda the smallest nation in terms of the population -- around 70,000 -- to ever win a gold medal at a Summer Games.

For Duffy, it was a welcome reward after persistent injuries and a diagnosis of anaemia in 2013.

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She quit the sport after failing to finish the event at the 2008 Beijing Games and started working in a shop in Bermuda before eventually returning to the sport after studying for a degree.

In a race delayed by 15 minutes because of slippery conditions following heavy overnight rain, Duffy took control in the final running section.

She had opened up a lead of almost a minute after the first of four laps and was never under threat from then on.

The broad grin she sported entering the finishing straight gave way to tears at the realisation of what she had achieved as she crossed the line.

Taylor-Brown looked proud as she overcame the frustration of suffering a flat rear tyre in the cycling section of the race.

 

That misfortune left her 22 seconds off the lead quartet at the beginning of the running section but she quickly made up the lost ground.

Switzerland's 2012 Olympic champion Nicola Spirig, 39, who won silver at the 2016 Rio Games, was sixth.

Bermuda's only previous Olympic medallist was boxer Clarence Hill, who won a bronze in 1976.

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