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Dame Flora Duffy named by Triathlon Magazine Canada as 2021 International Woman Triathlete of the Year

Flora Duffy of Team Bermuda celebrates as she approaches the finish line to win the gold medal during the women’s individual triathlon competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 27, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photograph by David Goldman/AP)

The accolades continue to pour in for Dame Flora Duffy.

Fresh off being recognised as Dame Commander of the British Empire for her services to sport in Bermuda in the latest New Year’s Honours, Duffy has now been named by Triathlon Magazine Canada as the 2021 International Woman Triathlete of the Year.

“If there was some debate as to who we should name the top woman international triathlete of 2021, it got more than settled on New Year’s Eve when Bermuda’s Flora Duffy was made a Dame of the Order of the British Empire,” read an article on the magazine’s website.

“We’re not sure if we’ll have to call her “Dame Flora Duffy” from here on in. But we are happy to name her one of our Triathletes of the Year for 2021.“

Duffy’s phenomenal career soared to dizzying heights last year.

The 34-year-old earned Bermuda’s first gold medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo last summer, with her winning time of 1hr 55min 36sec, the largest victory margin.

She also won a record-equalling third World Triathlon Championship Series title, an unprecedented sixth Xterra World Championship title and also captured glory on her debut at the Super League Triathlon championship series finale.

Duffy is also the first triathlete to be crowned the World and Olympic Champion in the same year.

In honour of her outstanding accomplishments, the highly decorated Bermudian was greeted on her arrival home by a motorcade at the airport.

A one-off holiday was also held in her honour last October, while the National Sports Centre’s South Field and Corkscrew Hill were renamed as the Flora Duffy Stadium and Flora Duffy Hill respectively.

The Flora Gold Fund to back future athletes was also set up with initial support from rum firm Gosling’s Limited.

The company will continue to donate proceeds from its Flora Gold rum to the fund, which could amount to a total of $100,000.

The company also produced a limited run of Gosling’s Flora Duffy Gold to celebrate her historic exploits at the Olympics.

Clarien Bank and Bermuda-based Bacardi both donated $10,000 to the Flora Fund, which was set up in her honour.

The charity was launched in 2018 by Duffy with the Bermuda Community Foundation and is designed to help established and aspiring athletes with equipment, training, fees, event registration and coaching.

Duffy was also listed by The World Economic Forum as one of nine women who made history in 2021.

The athlete’s former school Warwick Academy also rededicated its swimming pool to mark her Olympic gold medal success. The pool was named after her in 2017 in recognition of a string of victories on the international triathlon scene.

Duffy was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for her contributions to Bermuda sports in 2018 after winning gold in the women's triathlon at the XXI Commonwealth Games in Australia the same year, which has since been elevated to DBE.

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Published January 04, 2022 at 7:55 am (Updated January 05, 2022 at 8:03 am)

Dame Flora Duffy named by Triathlon Magazine Canada as 2021 International Woman Triathlete of the Year

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