Thirty-three-year-old Flora Duffy’s win marks Bermuda’s first Olympic gold medal

Photo by Charly Triballeau/AFP

Tokyo, Japan – Flora Duffy made Olympic history on Tuesday, winning the women’s triathlon in Tokyo to give the tiny island of Bermuda its first-ever gold medal.

The 33-year-old timed 1:55:36 to surge past Britain’s Georgia Taylor-Brown, with American Katie Zaferes taking the bronze. Duffy’s success makes Bermuda the smallest nation in terms of population—around 70,000 —to ever win a medal at the Summer Games.

In a race delayed by 15 minutes due to the slippery conditions following heavy overnight rain, Duffy took control in the final running section. She had opened up a lead of almost a minute after the first of four laps and was never under threat from then on.

Taylor-Brown suffered a flat rear tire in the cycling section of the race. Bermuda’s only previous Olympic medalist was boxer Clarence Hill in 1976.

© Agence France-Presse