Dame Flora Duffy in running to be crowned triathlete of the year
Dame Flora Duffy is the favourite to be crowned female triathlete of the year at the inaugural Global Triathlon Awards.
The ceremony, which will take place in Nice, France, on Friday, features Duffy going up against Ashleigh Gentle, Georgia Taylor-Brown, Lucy Charles-Barclay and Chelsea Sodaro for the top honours.
While there is no shortage of competition among the best female category, Duffy arguably has more reason to be at the forefront of the judging panels mind after enjoying another record-breaking year within the sport.
At the age of 35, Duffy further etched her name into the annals of not only Bermudian but world sporting history, cementing her status as one of short-course triathlon’s most dominant forces after clinching a record fourth women’s world title when successfully defending her World Triathlon Championship Series crown.
The latest triumph in a title-laden career means Duffy moved clear of Australian Emma Snowsill, who won three world crowns between 2003 and 2006, when the champion was decided by a single race.
However, the world championship victory in Abu Dhabi was not Duffy’s only major success, as she also successfully defended her Commonwealth Games title in Birmingham and in doing so became the first triathlete to successfully retain a Commonwealth crown.
As well as the best female category, the ceremony, which has been set up in collaboration between World Triathlon, Super League Triathlon and the Professional Triathletes Organisation, will also see ten other awards handed out, including Rookie of the Year, Outstanding Contributor and two Lifetime Kudos Awards; one going to a pro athlete and one to a major contributor to the sport.
Further categories are the year’s Best Swim Product, Best Bike Product, Best Run Product, Outstanding Nutrition Product and Outstanding Tech Product.
The nominee shortlist for best male sees Hayden Wilde, Gustav Iden, Kristian Blummenfelt, Alex Yee and Matthew Hauser going head to head, while the Rookie of the Year award will be contested by Katie Crowhurst, Sam Laidlow, Connor Bentley, Chelsea Sodaro and Kenji Nener.
“The Global Triathlon Awards provide the perfect opportunity to shine a light on the people and partners who have made a big impact on our sport over the past 12 months,” said Marisol Casado, president of the International Triathlon Union.
“The awards recognise those who helped to make 2022 such a landmark year for triathlon in all of its forms.
“As the governing body for the sport, World Triathlon is delighted to work closely with our partners Super League and PTO on what is set to become an absolute highlight of the calendar going forward as we prepare for another massive season and build to Paris 2024 [Olympic Games].”
The GTAs are judged by a panel of industry experts that for this year features Jordan Blanco, Stephane Diagana, Emma-Kate Lidbury, Tim Don and Chelsea Burns.