TRIATHLON 2016 I COZUMEL 138
BERMUDA WELCOMES A WORLD
CHAMPION
BATTLE FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CROWN SIZZLES
Bermuda's Flora Duffy floored it on the bike in hot and
humid conditions in Cozumel, winning the race and
securing her place in history as the 2016 ITU World
Triathlon Series Champion. The world title was the first
WTS crown Duffy has scored, as well as the first time
Bermuda has topped the World Championship podium.
Coming into the race, Duffy was the top ranked woman
in the Columbia Threadneedle Rankings, but only by 166
points. That meant she needed to either beat Olympic
champion Gwen Jorgensen (USA) or come second to her,
which wasn't an easy feat considering Jorgensen had
only lost two races in the last two years before starting.
But a breakaway on the bike saw Duffy run into the sun
with a large enough gap that Jorgensen and company
couldn't overcome it.
"I was speechless," Duffy said. "I just had no idea how
that happened. You always hope and wish and train for
the perfect day and the perfect day came right when I
needed it."
Jorgensen ran in front of the rest of the field to finish
both second on the day and second in the Columbia
Threadneedle Rankings. Charlotte McSchane (AUS),
who trains with Jorgensen, closed out the season with
her first-ever WTS podium with bronze, while Japan's
Ai Ueda finished fifth to end the season third overall in
the rankings. Her season third place is the highest any
Japanese athlete had ever finished.
