While we can’t help but think that there should be a lot more triathletes on the list, it is great that Sports Illustrated magazine did include Olympic gold medalist Flora Duffy to its annual list of the “best-conditioned athletes in the world.” A panel evaluates athletes based on: “performances over the last 12+ months; demands and risks of their respective sports; durability; training regimens; and other physical benchmarks including power, speed, strength, agility, endurance, flexibility and more.”
Duffy finished 11th of the 25 women on the list thanks to her record-setting winning margin in Tokyo (1:51), her record-tying third world championship and her sixth Xterra world title. It was also noted that she was also made a Dame of the Order of the British Empire.
CrossFit athlete Tia-Clair Toomey finished at the top of the standings, with Olympic swimmer Kate Ledecky finishing second and Olympic heptathlon gold medalist Nafisstou Thiam taking third in the standings.
Surprisingly, Duffy’s male counterpart from Tokyo, Kristian Blummenfelt, isn’t on the men’s list, nor are there any other male triathletes. Basketball player Giannis Antetokounmpo topped the men’s list, with decathlete gold medalist Damian Warner taking second and swimmer Caeleb Dressel finishing third.
You can read the full list here.
