Dame Flora Jane Duffy (born 30 September 1987) is a
Bermudian triathlete. She won a gold medal at the
2020 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, Bermuda's first gold medal. She also competed in the Olympics in Beijing, London, and Rio de Janeiro. 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
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
and
2017 ITU World Triathlon Series 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 also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
in Beijing, the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was 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 ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
in Rio de Janeiro, and the
2020 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
in Tokyo, where she won gold. It was Duffy's first Olympic medal, as well as 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 contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(OBE) in the
2018 Birthday Honours
The 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...
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 contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established 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 celebrations ...
, both for services to sport in Bermuda. Aswell, she has been crowned as the ITU Triathlon World Champion the 25 of November 2022 after beating Georgia Taylor-Brown. In Abu Dhabi.
Personal life
Duffy is of English parentage: her father is from
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
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 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
, therefore 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
Warwick Academy is the oldest school in Bermuda, established in about 1659. It is located in Warwick Parish.
It was named after the English colonial administrator Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick, who gave the original land. Its first Schoolmas ...
, then abroad at the independent
Kelly College
Kelly College was a coeducational independent school in the English public school tradition situated in the outskirts of Tavistock, Devon, with around 350 students ranging from ages 3 to 18. There was an associated preparatory school for pri ...
in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and the
University of Colorado Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...
, where she graduated with a
BA degree in Sociology.
Duffy launched The Flora Fund days after winning the inaugural WTS Bermuda in April 2018. Through the fund, Duffy hopes to enable 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 southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
n triathlete
Dan Hugo in
, Hugo's native town, where the couple reside when not training in
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 c ...
.
References
External links
*
*
The Flora Fund - Duffy's foundation*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duffy, Flora
Living people
Bermudian female triathletes
Triathletes at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Triathletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Triathletes at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Olympic triathletes of 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 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 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
Sporting dames