Flora Duffy Reflects On Five Olympic Games
[Written by Stephen Wright]
An emotional Dame Flora Duffy shed tears of pride after closing the curtain on her Olympic Games career with a fifth-place finish in the women’s triathlon at the Paris Games today [July 31].
A reflective Duffy, who etched her name into the annals of Bermudian sporting history when she stormed to a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games, said the 18-year-old version of herself could not have dreamt of becoming a five-time Olympian, let alone a champion.
The 36-year-old said it seemed fitting to finish fifth in her final appearance at the “greatest show on Earth”, her legacy already secure, having laid the foundation to inspire future generations of Bermuda athletes.
Glenn Jones interviewed Dame Flora in the lead up to these Games:
“That makes me really emotional,” Duffy told Bernews when asked to reflect on her Olympic success.
“I’m very proud of the five Olympics and winning gold in Tokyo, and everything that’s opened up for my career and been done for Bermuda.
“I know how much it meant for everyone there. I’m getting emotional because I’m proud, not sad.”
Duffy showed every ounce of her experience and know-how to navigate a Seine River under scrutiny for its pollution levels, leading the race after the 1,500-kilometre swim and the first lap of the 40km bike.
It was her first proper feel for the Seine, having missed the Paris Test Event last year through injury, and given the cancelled sessions because of the quality of the water on Sunday and Monday when the men’s race was postponed.
“I mean, I wasn’t expecting to be leading it!” said Duffy, who finished in 1hr 56min 12sec.
“I really knew how to swim to stay out of the current or to navigate it really well.
“Me and [husband and former pro] Dan [Hugo] had talked about it quite a lot. He’s very good at reading rivers and currents from his paddling background.
“I got to the first buoy, and I was second, and I could tell the person in front of me wasn’t swimming particularly fast.
“I thought, ‘I’ll just take it, and swim strategically as best I can. That opened up a big gap because others weren’t swimming the current very smart.”
Having rolled back the years in the swim, Duffy continued to power off solo on the slick cobbles of the iconic Champ-Elysées, leading 17 seconds at one point before being pegged back by the chase group.
“[Leading the bike] left me with a bit of a dilemma on the bike,” said Duffy, who only returned to competitive action in May after a lengthy knee injury.
“I thought, wow, maybe I’ll just go for it! But there were strong girls, and no one leaves me out there, they know they can’t.
“I just tried to make it a bit aggressive.”
Duffy continued to dig deep in the 10km run, but by the end of the first lap, a second successive Olympic medal had slipped her by.
“I just didn’t have my run legs today, which is really disappointing,” she said.
“I’ve been running much better than that and know I can run with the leaders. That’s racing, though.
“Honestly, even earlier this year in April, it was doubtful I would get here. So, to be here in the mix and finish fifth at my fifth Olympics – I can be very proud.
“I’m a competitor, of course, and wanted to be on that podium, and I knew I could run to be on it. It’s a little bittersweet right now, but I think, with time, I’ll be very proud of my finish.”
Her Olympic chapter might be over, but Duffy said she has no intention of retiring yet.
“I’m going to do some longer-course racing,” she added. “I don’t know how many other short course races I’ll do.
“I’ve accomplished everything I’ve wanted to. I’m pretty happy with how it’s gone.”
France’s Cassandre Beaugrand claimed the victory in front of her home crowd in 1:54:55.
Bernews will be providing comprehensive coverage of Bermuda’s athletes in the coming weeks,
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- View all our articles on the Bermuda 2024 Games here on Bernews
- View our ongoing live text/photo/video updates here
Was an epic race, the swim was crazy and an amazing performance from Flora. Given the fast long straight and relatively flat sections on the bike it was impossible to break and not be caught by a working together chase group. If there had been someone with her away from the top contenders Flora would have definately been on podium, if not won it.
The leaders group needed pushing and Flora did more than her fair share on the front pulling them along….pretty sure more than the other main contenders, when it may have been a better tactic to draft until nearing transition. That would have run the risk of a chase group catching though, so a double edged sword.
Thought, given the conditions with all the crashes during the race, the crazy before the horn starts from a bunch off the pontoon, the mad flow and drift of the river, coming back from injuries and more, Flora was excellent ! Thank you Flora not just for what you accomplished over the years at the olympics, but for having our Country, Bermuda, being put in peoples minds over and over and over again with your smile passion and enthusiasm.
Good luck on your next challenge. GO FLORA GO, GO FLORA GO!
Congratulations to Erica Hawley 41 of 55 on your first olympics and Tyler Smith 48 of 55. both of you can be proud ! Looking forward to seeing your names at the next olympics !