Dame Flora Duffy On Olympic Hopes In Paris
Dame Flora Duffy said she has renewed hope of producing a top performance at the Paris Games in the women’s triathlon tomorrow [July 31].
The Olympic champion told award-winning Bermudian journalist Glenn Jones in a recent interview for Bernews that her ambition is to win another medal and has left no stone unturned in her preparations.
She returned to action after an 18-month injury lay-off at the World Triathlon Championship Series [WTCS] Yokohama in Japan in May, finishing seventh before coming eighth a few weeks later at WTCS Cagliari.
“The ambition is to win a medal,” Duffy told Jones as part of Bernews’ The Best Interview the Best series. “We’ve done all I can in my training to get me there.
“My performances have given me and my coaching team a lot of hope.”
The 36-year-old, who won the island’s first-ever gold medal in Tokyo, arrived in France last Thursday with her husband Dan Hugo and her American coach Jessica West.
Duffy has spent the past week sharpening her swim, bike, and run at a training base in Poissy, a suburb in the western suburbs of Paris, along with Bermuda triathlon team-mates Erica Hawley and Tyler Smith.
“A year ago, I was not training much at all, and my knee wasn’t making any progress,” Duffy told Jones, who flew to Boulder, Colorado, to interview her at her home.
“My massage therapist told me, ‘If this thing doesn’t turn around by February next year [2024], I think you should call it. You’ve tried everything, you’ve accomplished everything; I really think this might be it.’ That was a really emotional moment.
“At the end of the day I love it, I enjoy it, and I know Paris is my final Olympics.”
The women’s triathlon is scheduled for tomorrow, starting at 3 am [Bermuda time], with the men’s race, postponed today due to pollution levels in the River Seine, taking place at 5.45 am.
Bernews will be providing comprehensive coverage of Bermuda’s athletes in the coming weeks.
- View the ‘Best Interview The Best’ series here
- View profiles of all ten athletes representing Bermuda here
- View our dedicated website Bermuda2024.com here
- View all our articles on the Bermuda 2024 Games here on Bernews
- View our ongoing live text/photo/video updates here
