What a year it was for Flora Duffy. A few days ago, we shared a video of Bermuda’s golden girl bringing home the Olympic gold medal during a national holiday that was declared to celebrate the country’s first-ever Olympic champion, but Duffy was now given another great honor by her home country, as she – last Friday – received the title of Dame Commander of the British Empire.
“Flora Duffy is recognized for her exceptional contribution to sport in Bermuda over many years and for her outstanding achievements in triathlon, which include becoming the first and only person to ever win an Olympic gold medal for a British Overseas Territory”, she was told when given this honor, alongside three other Bermudans who received this title.
“Her achievements also made Bermuda the smallest country, in terms of population, to win a gold medal at a Summer Olympics”, they continued. “In addition to her Olympics win this year, Ms Duffy also won the 2021 Xterra World Championship, the 2021 World Triathlon Championship Series Abu Dhabi and the 2021 World Triathlon Championship Series Montreal.”
With an Olympic gold medal and two world titles, we can say that Duffy – who came back from a severe foot injury in 2018 and 2019 – turned 2021 into the best year of her career.
