Olympic Champion Flora Duffy Off to a Successful Begin in UAE

Bermuda’s Olympic champion Flora Duffy acquired her World Triathlon Championship Sequence title protection off to the best begin by holding off three Britons to win the ladies’s race on Friday.

In her first return to aggressive motion since successful on her Tremendous League debut in Malibu, California in September, the 34-year-old confirmed no indicators of lack of kind with a dominant show on the difficult Yas Marina Formulation 1 circuit.

The efficiency got here regardless of her return to Bermuda final month for week-long celebrations, which included a one-off nationwide vacation to mark her Tokyo victory in July.

Flora Duffy, who earned Bermuda’s first-ever gold medal by successful the triathlon on this summer time’s Olympics, accomplished the dash distance of 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike and five-kilometer run in 55 minutes 42 seconds.

“It was a very exhausting race,” stated Duffy, who was pushed exhausting on the ultimate lap of the run by a resurgent Georgia Taylor-Brown, additionally runner-up to the Bermudian in Tokyo.

“Coming into the race I didn’t actually know what to anticipate as a result of over the previous few weeks my world has been turned the other way up with every part that has been happening for the reason that Olympics.

“I actually needed to struggle for it and use all of my expertise and ways to ultimately get the win.

“I knew Georgia would come by on the run as a result of she is such a cultured athlete. It was a case of making an attempt to stretch her on the downhill sections to attempt to break down her confidence slightly.

“In that final 800 [meters], I went as exhausting as I might and on the finish. I couldn’t even elevate the ending banner as a result of I simply assume I’m bodily and emotionally exhausted. I’m simply so glad this 12 months is completed,” added Duffy, a three-time world champion, who divides her time between Bermuda, her coaching camp in Boulder, Colorado, and South Africa – her husband Dan Hugo’s dwelling nation.

Flora Duffy held off a powerful problem from Taylor-Brown (55:53) whose compatriot Sophie Coldwell (56:11) accomplished the rostrum locations.

One other Briton, Jessica Learmonth, was fourth in 56:27. Forty-three ladies completed the course.

CMC