ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, CMC – Bermudian World and Olympic champion Dame Flora Duffy gave her rivals a head start by skipping the opening race of the new World Triathlon Series Championship (WTSC) season here on Friday.
The 35-year-old opted to continue preparations at her base in Stellenbosch, South Africa – home of her husband, Dan Hugo – instead.
The series started was the same venue where Duffy rewrote the history books by beating her main rival, Britain’s George Taylor-Brown, to clinch a record fourth women’s world title and successfully defend her WTCS crown last November.
Two British women fought out Friday’s finish, but Taylor-Brown was not among them, finishing only 15th.
The race went to Beth Potter, who finished the sprint-distance course in 57:56 minutes, ahead of Sophie Coldwell (58:14), with American Spivey Taylor (58:27) third.
Bermudian Eric Hawley, 24, who is bidding to enhance her Olympic qualification prospects, finished 45th in 1:01:08.
Hawley said earlier: “In 2023, I plan to race almost all World Cup and WTCS events with a sole focus on gaining as many Olympic points as possible and ranking higher.
“I want to start the year strong at this level and start again on my chase for Olympic points.”
Duffy, who won the gold medal in 2021 at the delayed Olympics in Japan, is expected to defend her title in Paris next year.
The next venue on the WTCS calendar is Yokohama, Japan, in May, with the series finale set for Pontevedra, Spain, in September. Bermuda, where Duffy stormed to victory last year, is not on this year’s calendar.
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