Michael Dunkley has praised the hard work of Bermuda’s Olympic team in Rio and called on the island to show its support for Flora Duffy.

Ms Duffy, considered a potential front-runner in the women’s triathlon, is set to compete for a spot on the winners’ podium at 11am local time today.

Should she achieve that goal, it would the first time a Bermudian female has ever won an Olympic medal, and only the second medal won by Bermuda in the history of the Games, boxer Clarence Hill having grabbed the bronze at the Montreal Olympics in 1976.

Today’s event will be broadcast live on ZBM and on the Bermuda Broadcasting Company’s Rio 2016 app.

With the 2016 Olympics drawing to a close, the Premier said: “Prior to the start of the Rio Games, on behalf of the Government and the people of Bermuda, I extended well wishes and support to Tre Houston, Tyrone Smith, Rebecca Heyliger, Julian Fletcher, Ceci Wollmann, Cameron Pimentel, Shelley Pearson and Flora Duffy. I shared with them that they are all an inspiration and congratulated them on their achievement of making it to the Olympics.

“Over the last two weeks, I’ve managed to follow each of their performances and I’ve been so impressed and inspired by their poise and competitive spirit. I’m sure like me, the entire island has felt an immense sense of pride as they represented Bermuda on the world stage. I can’t help but believe that each of our athletes will learn and grow from their time spent in Rio and I am very much looking forward to hearing about their experiences.

“For so many countries the 2016 Rio Olympics have been a unifying event, and it’s my hope that Bermuda will also reflect on the symbolism of these Games, the unifying power of sports and how we ourselves can build upon these sentiments of support and camaraderie.

“This weekend will be a bittersweet one, as the excitement of the 2016 Rio Olympics comes to an end. However, we still have one Bermudian Olympian yet to compete as triathlete Flora Duffy takes the world stage on Saturday morning. It’s my hope that all residents tune in and show their support for Flora and her Olympic bid, and in the days and weeks ahead I hope Bermuda joins me in expressing our national pride and celebrating the amazing achievement of all of our 2016 Olympians.”