After making history with a sensational Olympic gold medal win, Flora Duffy was celebrating in Tokyo in typical style when elated parents Charlie and Maria Duffy called from Bermuda.

“She was back in her hotel room, just relaxing with room service, eating fries,” her mother said.

After achieving a lifetime goal of coming top in the women’s triathlon, Ms Duffy and her husband Dan Hugo enjoyed some welcome down time.

Her father said there was “extra tension” for the family on Tuesday night, with the Olympic win an all-or-nothing target for the 33-year-old triathlete.

“She was not going to be coming back next year,” Mrs Duffy added. “There’s no second chance.”

But she said once Flora embarked on the final leg of the triathlon in the 10k, parental anxieties cooled.

“Once she got off that bike and got into her shoes, she just went for it. After that it was ‘catch me if you can’.”

Mr Duffy added: “That’s what she does.”

Her parents watched the triathlon over again before calling Flora, and had watched it three times by the time The Royal Gazette visited yesterday.

David Burt, the Premier, all but promised a national party for Ms Duffy’s return to Bermuda – for an athlete described by her parents as understated and easygoing.

The gold medal-winner, celebrated with a motorcade in 2018 for a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, can expect a hero’s welcome back home.

But her parents said Bermudians may have to wait until October while Ms Duffy attends to personal business.

In the meantime, her parents have been hearing from “everybody”, both said at once.

Their own Cup Match plans are relaxed: the Duffys do not expect to attend the Cup Match Classic but will enjoy a day or two off doing their own exercise training.

Meanwhile, for their daughter, getting gold doesn’t mean slowing down.

Her father said: “There are other triathlons coming. Flora just trains all the time. It’s her job.”