Dame Flora Jane Duffy (born 30 September 1987) is a Bermudian professional triathlete. She won a gold medal at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Bermuda's first gold medal. She also competed in the Beijing, London, and Rio de Janeiro Olympics. In 2018, she won gold in the women's triathlon at the XXI Commonwealth Games in Australia. She also won gold in the same event at the XXII Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022.

Athletic career

Duffy is the

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and

2017 ITU World Triathlon Series The 2017 ITU World Triathlon Series was a series of nine World Championship Triathlon events that lead up to a Grand Final held in Rotterdam. The Series was organised under the auspices of the world governing body of triathlon, the International Tr ...

World Champion, the 2015 and 2016 ITU Cross Triathlon World Champion, and a six-time winner (2014-2017, 2019, 2021) of the XTERRA World Championships. She competed for Bermuda at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

in Beijing, the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London, the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

in Rio de Janeiro, and the

in Tokyo, where she won gold. It was Duffy's first Olympic medal and Bermuda's first gold medal. Duffy's medal also made Bermuda the smallest country in the world to have won a gold medal at the Summer Olympics. In April 2018, Duffy won the first gold medal of the XXI Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. Duffy won the women's sprint triathlon by a 43-second lead, becoming Bermuda's first female Commonwealth gold medalist. She was also scheduled to compete in the women's cross-country mountain bike at the Commonwealth Games, but did not start the event. Duffy is the only person to win three triathlon world titles in the same year in 2016, claiming the WTS, ITU Cross Triathlon, and Xterra titles in close succession. Duffy is the only triathlete in WTS history to post the fastest swim, bike, and run portions in the same race. Duffy holds the record for the largest winning margin in both Olympic and Sprint distance races in a WTS event. Duffy was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2018 Birthday Honours The 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by ci ...

and

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(DBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

, both for services to sport in Bermuda. After beating Georgia Taylor-Brown, she was crowned as the ITU Triathlon World Champion on November 25, 2022 in Abu Dhabi. She competed in the women's triathlon at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

in Paris, France.

Legacy

The Dame Flora Duffy National Sports Centre (including the Flora Duffy South Field Stadium) in Devonshire Parish is named for her.

Personal life

Duffy is of English parentage: her father is from

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...

, and her mother is from

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

. She was eligible to represent Great Britain but opted to represent Bermuda, where she grew up. Duffy was privately educated at the independent Warwick Academy in Bermuda, then abroad at the independent Kelly College in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Duffy graduated from Colorado with a BA in sociology. Duffy launched The Flora Fund days after winning the inaugural WTS Bermuda in April 2018. The fund is set up to help youth in Bermuda to pursue their potential, ultimately contributing to a healthier, more ambitious community. In December 2017, Duffy married

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n triathlete Dan Hugo in

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer.
Thomas Baldwin ...

, Hugo's hometown. They live in both Stellenbosch and

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...

References

External links

* *
The Flora Fund - Duffy's foundation
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duffy, Flora Living people Bermudian female triathletes Female taekwondo practitioners Triathletes at the 2008 Summer Olympics Triathletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics Triathletes at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic triathletes for Bermuda 1987 births People from Paget Parish British female triathletes University of Colorado Boulder alumni Triathletes at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Triathletes at the 2015 Pan American Games Triathletes at the 2020 Summer Olympics Pan American Games bronze medalists for Bermuda Pan American Games bronze medalists in triathlon Central American and Caribbean Games silver medalists for Bermuda Triathletes at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Triathletes at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists in triathlon Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Bermuda Competitors at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in triathlon Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Bermuda Olympic medalists in triathlon Bermudian people of English descent Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Sportspeople awarded damehoods Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Triathletes at the 2024 Summer Olympics