The inconsistent and inexplicable form that has plagued triathlete Flora Duffy over the last year spilled over to the Olympics yesterday.

Another 'DNF' added to the two suffered in four previous races in the last few months wouldn't normally have affected the young athlete whose best years are still to come.

But this was the Beijing Games and her failure to finish again left the 20-year-old in tears.

While Duffy had repeatedly insisted she would begin the event with few expectations, after months of rigorous training she had, at least, hoped to put in a 'solid' performance.

Instead yesterday, two years after experiencing the exhilarating high of an unexpected eighth place at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, she had to deal with the cruel low of bringing up the rear of a 56-strong field.

On a blazing hot day which saw competitors start in the reservoir surrounding the ancient Ming Tombs and continued through the winding hills of dense forest, Duffy had little time to enjoy the spectacular sights.

After a reasonable swim from which she emerged in 41st place, 37 seconds behind the leaders, the Bermudian's race progressively got worse.

Struggling on the bike, she finished the first of six laps of the 40-kilometre course with two other riders at the back of the pack, now three minutes adrift.

Falling further and further behind, despite their efforts to work together, that trio failed to make up ground and by the end of the penultimate lap, they were hauled off the course by race officials.

Olympic triathlete rules state that once a rider is lapped, they have to withdraw. In this case, the back five weren't exactly lapped but the leaders had already started the second lap of the run, meaning the remaining riders would not be allowed into the transition area.

Hugely disappointed by that decision, knowing that many of those ahead of her were competitors she had beaten in the past, Bermuda's Female Athlete of the Year took almost an hour to compose herself, comforted by coaches Richard Brady and Neil de ste. Croix, and Bermuda Olympic Association officials, John Hoskins, Judy Siddle and Philip Guishard.

Eventually she put on a brave face to speak to The Royal Gazette.

"I don't know what to say. I gave it my best and obviously my best wasn't good enough. As you can see, I'm disappointed not to have finished.

"It just didn't feel good today. I knew as soon as I dived into the water . . . I just didn't have that spark. It sucks because this is the Olympics but there's not much you can do. Some days you're on, and others it's just not there.

"It's difficult when you're tapering to get it spot-on because you go through a period when you're not feeling very good and then your body starts to pick up. But obviously that didn't happen."

Duffy has said the goal has always been the London Games in 2012 and she can take some consolation from the fact that yesterday's gold medallist was Emma Snowsill who wasn't even picked for the Australian team that competed in Athens four years' ago.

Snowsill burst clear at the beginning of the 10K run, after a pack of around 20 finished the cycling, and held on for a convincing win, stopping the clock at one hour, 56 minutes, 27.66 seconds.

Pre-race favourite, Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal, took the silver, clocking 1:59:34.63 with another Aussie, Emma Moffatt, earning the bronze with a time of 1:59:55.84.

A total of 45 competitors finished the race while five, including Duffy, were pulled out. Others were forced to withdraw because of mechanical problems or with injuries after a bike crash on the fifth lap.

"I know a lot of these girls and I've shown before that I can beat them," added Duffy. "But, again, this was the Olympic Games and there are a lot who should have finished higher up the field than they did.

"We were riding hard at the back but there was not much we could do . . . I don't think I would have run brilliantly but I just wanted to finish.

"I knew when we started the last lap and saw the main pack, I knew we were going to get pulled."

As for the future, Duffy said she was committed to triathlon and for the next year at least would try to compete on the professional circuit.

"I have to reassess," she said. "I'm going to change quite a lot. The last year hasn't been good for me but I had to keep going because I wanted to be here. You can't say 'because I'm not in great shape, I won't go'. It's the Olympics, you might never get the chance again.

"But I have to change some things now. The aim has always been 2012, I've got to get back where I was and I will."

Having just graduated from Kelly College in Devon, England, Duffy said she would now look for "something different".

"I don't plan going back to England, I'm kind of fed up with the winters. I want to pursue triathlon, I always have and we'll see how it goes."