CU Alum Flora Duffy Wins First Ever Olympic Gold for Bermuda
Bermuda's first and last medal was a bronze won in men's heavyweight boxing 45 years ago. July 26 marked Bermuda's first gold medal for the country and made them the smallest country to ever win gold in a summer Olympics. The four decade drought was snapped in an under-two-hour triathlon performance by Flora Duffy, a University of Colorado alum.
Duffy finished a full minute and 14 seconds ahead of the silver medalist, running a time of 1:55:36. This Duffy's first medal in four trips to the Olympics. Her best finish prior to this year was in Rio 2016 where she finished eighth, according to the Olympics' official website.
According to the University of Colorado Athletics website, Duffy made the move from Bermuda to Boulder for a change of pace and to hopefully restart her triathlon career after she put it on hold after the 2008 Beijing Olympics. According to World Triathlon, her best finish in an Olympics prior to this year was a 45th place finish in 2012.
Duffy's finish was an emotional one as she was already in tears and waving to fans before she even crossed the line. At the finish, she held the tape high above her head before collapsing to the ground with her face in her hands.
According to an article from 2017 with Bernews, after Duffy won her first overseas triathlon when she was only about nine years old, she already knew she wanted to be a World Champion and compete in the Olympics, and that's exactly what she told her parents. Now, at 33 years old, she has done just that. And, it's safe to say, her country is proud.
Although triathlon competition is over, there's still a lot of Olympics left to watch between now and Aug. 8.
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