Flora Duffy’s quest to extend her Olympic experience to the Rio Games in 2016 was given a perfect fillip when she finished third in the Abu Dhabi Triathlon today.

It was the 27-year-old Bermudian’s first podium finish in an International Triathlon Union World Series event and kick-started her drive to gain enough qualifying points to make Rio de Janeiro her third visit to an Olympic Games.

“Unbelievable day,” Duffy said on Twitter. “Rode that bike course with all I had. So thrilled to finish third.”

Duffy had only just successfully defended her title at the South African Xterra Championships, the off-road form of triathlon that she took to so manfully last year. But she has proved no slouch in the mainstream form of the sport, either.

She held the lead this morning in the sprint distance event only 1.5 kilometres from the end before being reeled in by Gwen Jorgensen, the world champions from the United States, and Katie Zaferes, another American.

Jorgensen, whose ability on the run is the stuff of legend, completed the 750-metre swim, 20-kilometre bike and 5km run in 58min 59sec. Zaferes crossed in 59:15, with Duffy a further eight seconds back.

Her splits were 10:02, 30:55 and 17:23, with her run tiring enough to allow the speedy Jorgensen a way past.

The ITU World Series, which features ten events and concludes with a grand final in Chicago, resumes in Auckland on March 28 and 29.

Meanwhile in Florida, the heir apparents to the likes of Duffy and Tyler Butterfield got their campaign under way yesterday in the Clermont F1 Series.

Nick Pilgrim took on the older boys in the draft legal race for 12 to 16-year-olds, finishing a creditable 39th out of 64. Significantly, he was the second 12-year-old across the line.

He finished the 375-metre swim in 5min 54sec, the ten-kilometre bike in 17:40 and the 2.5km run in 12:07 for a total time, with transitions, of 37:36.

Alex Pilgrim and Lynsey Palmer will join Nick in Sarasota for the next race in the F1 series next weekend, while Tyler Smith and Erica Hawley will compete at the same venue in the equally competitive CAMTRI Sprint Triathlon, which will double up as the North American Junior Championships.