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Slowtwitch.com’s Timothy Carlson published a Question and Answer article on Bermuda’s Flora Duffy.
Today www.islandstats.com brings you part two of the article.
Slowtwitch: What was your first big race?
A. Flora Duffy: At age 18 in my last year of high school I qualified for the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. So as I graduated, I was leaving to go to the Commonwealth Games in three weeks. My professors wondered, ‘What is going on here?’
Slowtwitch: Were you surprised?
A. Flora Duffy: The world of triathlon was surprised. This little 18 year old from Bermuda!
Slowtwitch: Had you raced before?
A. Flora Duffy: That was my second Olympic distance triathlon. I had no international experience. I was thinking: ‘What the heck is going on?’ And at the time, the girls from England, Australia and New Zealand were very strong. It was a huge event and all of a sudden I am racing with Emma Snowsill, whom I idolized.
Slowtwitch: What were your strengths?
A. Flora Duffy: Definitely at 18 my run was the strong one. My swim was hit or miss. Sometimes front pack, sometimes third pack.
Slowtwitch: How did that Commonwealth race go?
A. Flora Duffy: Great! I came out of the water with Helen Jenkins and I was thinking: ‘Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!’ I was this little 18 year old and I was riding with the heroes of the sport. I finished 8th.
Slowtwitch: Did that change your image of yourself as an athlete?
A. Flora Duffy: That was a huge turning point. Bermuda started to take notice of me. Hmmm. We should probably fund this girl and let her develop as an athlete Later that year, I came 2nd at the ITU junior world championship in Lausanne and I got a couple top 10s at World Cups. Say, who the heck is this girl??
Slowtwitch: Did you plan to go to University?
A. Flora Duffy: I graduated high school in the spring of 2006 and that Fall I enrolled at my old boarding school in a course for a few of us who wanted to stay on and prepare for University. I worked with a triathlon coach there leading to the Beijing Olympics. He was a good coach but things went bad for me. I was getting ill and injured.
Slowtwitch: What caused it?
A. Flora Duffy: Well, it was this whole thing.
Slowtwitch: Please elaborate.
A. Flora Duffy: OK. It’s not too terribly embarrassing. It is quite common actually. I had something very similar to Hollie Avil’s issue with being unhealthy and not eating correctly. It's amazing how fast that can consume you. [Great Britain’s Avil had a spectacular start to her triathlon career. At age 18, she earned two podiums in ITU World Cups, won gold at the ITU Under 23 World Championship, and qualified for the Beijing Olympics. After Beijing she suffered a series of illnesses and injuries and retired from the sport in May at age 22, citing an eating disorder]
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