On August 20, triathlete Flora Duffy will aim to bring Bermuda its first Olympic medal in 40 years.

And watching anxiously from the Rio de Janeiro grandstand, while sporting specially made “Go Flora Go” shirts, will be father Charlie Duffy, mother Maria and brothers Joel and Campbell.

This will be Flora’s third Olympic Games, after failing to finish in Beijing in 2008 and enduring a bike crash in London in 2012. However, this time the 28-year-old has a viable shot at a podium finish, given her number one status in the World Triathlon Series after a spectacular season.

“Hopefully, it’ll be third time lucky,” Charlie said. “Flora’s had ups and downs, and as a parent you suffer along with her. It’s painful at times, most notably at the two previous Olympics, which were both pretty devastating”

The family will fly to Brazil on Sunday to watch the Colorado-based triathlete attempt to claim glory for Bermuda on the international stage.

“A lot of people are expecting her to medal as though it’s a given, which is definitely not the case,” said Joel, 34.

“I certainly think that she’s capable, but she needs to be at the top of her game and the race needs to play out to her strengths.”

Campbell, 26, added: “I’m really excited to see how Flora’s going to do.

“A lot depends on the day. If she gets in the top five or ten we’ll be really happy. If she does better than that, it’ll just be amazing.”

Flora’s destiny as a world-class athlete was evident from a young age.

“I remember watching her first sports day when she was 5 years old, and she won the distance race,” Joel said.

Two years later, the precocious youngster competed in her first Iron Kids Triathlon in Bermuda and again placed first — posting a time so quick that organisers questioned if it was an error — before entering her first international triathlon in Chicago aged 8.

“It just seemed to snowball from there — she got better and better,” Charlie said.

Despite her exceptional talent, Flora’s underwhelming performance in the 2008 Beijing Olympics led to her giving up her triathlon dreams temporarily.

It was only after she began studying at the University of Colorado in Boulder that she returned to the fold — albeit tentatively.

“She started swimming again for fun, then she joined the cycling team and started winning races, and her love for the sport returned,” Charlie said. “Getting into Colorado saved her career.”

In Rio, the weight of expectation has shifted dramatically on to Flora’s shoulders, turning her from outsider to one of the favourites — especially after she claimed victory at the Montreal ITU Triathlon World Cup last week, a sprint event at half the Olympic distance.

“It’s pretty amazing; I never get used to it,” Joel said of his younger sister’s success.

“It doesn’t surprise me but it makes me very proud, just the number of sacrifices she’s made. It’s such a gruelling sport, and to reach the heights that she’s reached on a world stage is pretty remarkable.”

“Flora’s had a great season, so hopefully things will go a lot better,” Charlie added.

“This time, she’s established as the world number one and she’s got a great reputation throughout the triathlon world.

“She has already proved herself and I’m not sure we could get much prouder, whether she wins a medal or not.”