Flora Duffy wins Bermuda's first-ever Olympic gold medal

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Rajdeep Saha

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Last updated on Jul 27, 2021, 03:45 pm

Triathlete Flora Duffy handed Bermuda their first Olympic gold medal in history at the Olympics on Tuesday. Duffy had earlier quit the sport after failing to finish the event at the 2008 Beijing Games. She started working in a shop before studying for a degree before returning to the sport. The 33-year-old sealed the women's race at the Tokyo Olympics in 1hr 55min 36sec.

Flora Duffy is an Olympic champion

I have achieved my dream, says Duffy

After scripting history, Duffy said she has achieved her dream. "I have achieved my dream of winning a gold medal, but also winning Bermuda's first gold medal," she said. "It's bigger than me and that's a really cool moment. That was the longest kilometer of my life (the final one of the run)," she added.

History for Bermuda at the Olympics

Bermuda, an island with a population of just 63,000, become the smallest nation or territory to win an Olympic gold medal after Duffy's heroics. Notably, Bermuda's only previous Olympic medalist was boxer Clarence Hill, who won a bronze in the 1976 Games.

How did Duffy fare in previous Olympic events

This was Duffy's fourth Olympic participation after having represented her nation at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Games respectively. In Beijing, she had a disappointing show. In London, she finished 45th with a total time of 2:08:54. In Rio, Duffy improved drastically, taking eighth place after clocking a time of 1:58:25.

Georgia Taylor-Brown triumphs despite flat rear tyre in cycling

Britain's Georgia Taylor-Brown finished second and US athlete Katie Zaferes took the bronze medal. Earlier, Taylor-Brown suffered the intense frustration of a flat rear tyre in the cycling section of the race. But she quickly made up the lost ground from thereon.