Dame Flora Duffy is on the hunt for more history as she attempts to defend the triathlon title at her fifth Olympic Games in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

Duffy, who secured Bermuda’s first Olympic gold medal in Tokyo three years ago, may not be one of the favourites this time around after returning from a serious knee injury only two months ago but she is determined to give it her all in Paris.

“This is my fifth and final Olympics and overall I’m just really proud of representing Bermuda at the Olympics that I have been to ” Duffy told The Royal Gazette before she flew out to Paris last week.

“Each Games has been so different and I can really see how my career has progressed through each one of them and I am so grateful for the journey.

“A large portion of my life has been spent chasing my Olympic goals, so it will certainly be an emotional moment for me afterwards when I realise that it's all done.”

For a long time it appeared that Duffy might not make the starting line-up after she missed all of 2023 with a knee problem and she is just thankful to be among the field for the race, which starts at 3am Bermuda time tomorrow morning.

“I am definitely grateful to be on the start line after that whole knee injury journey, which was pretty terrible at times,” Duffy said.

“I'm now healthy, fit and with racing you never know what's going to happen, so I am excited just to race and walk away knowing that I gave everything as I always do.

“I think this Paris dream helped keep me focused and helped me overcome some of the worst times of my injury and just believe that I will get healthy again and that I would be able to train at the level required to get myself there on the start line..

“I also had a really good support system around me that helps me through these hard times.

“It certainly wasn’t easy but I was grateful for the people around me who stayed positive and kept believing in me. My physiotherapist also put in lots of hard yards to help me with rehab and getting me through the entire process.”

Duffy considers herself an underdog heading into Paris but there were signs in her two comeback races in Yokohama and Cagliari that she could still be in contention for a medal.

“I think it’s different this time around because I have medalled and I’m also coming in with an injury, so I am a little bit more of an underdog than I was going into Tokyo, which has been nice,” Duffy said.

“A lot of the spotlight has been on some of the other women versus on myself, so that has certainly helped a lot, but I also put high expectations on myself so it's more about managing that and focusing on the positives and the excitement of racing in Paris in front of family and friends at my fifth and final Olympics.

“I have a gold medal so whatever happens this time around is icing on the cake and it’s just really nice to be going there as the defending champion, performing my best and seeing what I can do.”

In Duffy’s near 18-month absence, a number of women have advanced their claims, notably Briton Beth Potter and home favourite Cassandre Beaugrand, but Bermuda’s Olympic champion thinks another place on the podium is up for grabs.

“There are a lot of strong women competing and I think it's pretty open as to who could win a medal,” she said.

“There are certainly some favourites, but I think there are five or six women who could be on the podium and it wouldn't be a surprise whichever way it went. I will certainly be trying to employ my usual tactics of trying to split the race up and not letting it come down to the run.

“The swim is quite tactical and we are swimming in a river with a strong current, so that could really make or break the race and change it for some people if they get swimming in the current wrong. That is probably one of the most exciting parts of the race.”

Duffy is particularly thrilled to be among a trio of Bermuda triathletes in Paris and has been instrumental in helping Erica Hawley and Tyler Smith through their initial Olympic experience, allowing them to use her training base in Poissy.

“It's awesome that Erica Hawley and Tyler Smith both qualified,” Duffy said.

“It's really, really cool and speaks volumes for the amazing triathlon community in Bermuda,” she said.

“We’ve all come through the Tri-Hedz programme and I think it's really special that we will get to ride up there together and it shouldn’t go unnoticed that there are three Bermudians competing in one sport from a very small island.

“Definitely kudos to them for qualifying and for the triathlon community that has helped and supported us all throughout this journey.”

With Emma Harvey, Adriana Penruddocke and Erica Hawley qualifying for this year’s Olympics, Bermuda’s eight-strong squad has achieved gender parity and Duffy is delighted to see more women competing for Bermuda at the highest level.

“I think it’s really, really cool to see that there's more women on the Bermuda Olympic team,” she said.

“Hopefully the young girls and young women in Bermuda see this and it motivates and inspires them to chase their goals.”