Bermuda World Triathlon Sprint and Relay Championship Cancelled – Flora Duffy devastated
Flora Duffy has expressed grief and frustration after being denied the chance to race on home soil next month following the cancellation of the 2021 World Triathlon Sprint and Relay Championship according to the Bermuda Royal Gazette.
The Olympic and World Triathlon Championship Series champion said she had been “really looking forward” to competing on home turf at next month’s event, which has been cancelled amid the new Covid-19 spike.
“It’s very sad, really, really devastating,” Duffy told The Royal Gazette. “I was of course looking forward to racing in Bermuda off the back of the Olympics and really celebrating that moment with the community.
“I was unable to celebrate in Tokyo given the extreme Covid lock downs, so celebrating with friends and family and the greater community that week in Bermuda was something I was really looking forward to.
“Of course, I’m upset and frustrated that the race cannot be held. I understand why because of Covid, but it’s just frustrating.”
The championship was scheduled to be held from October 15 to 17.
The Bermuda Local Organising Committee and World Triathlon made the difficult decision to cancel the event following an analysis taking into consideration the island’s recent spike in Covid-19 infections in addition to the Bermuda Hospital’s elevated Covid-19 patient intake.
World Triathlon who made announcement stated:
“The whole World Triathlon family is disheartened that the global pandemic continues to impact our events, but we are committed to returning to Bermuda.
The Bermudan Government announced this month that October 18 would be declared Flora Duffy Day in recognition of the triathlete’s success having won Bermuda’s first Olympic gold medal competing at the Tokyo Games as well as a record-equalling third women’s World Triathlon Championship Series in Edmonton, Canada.
Flora will still be attending the special presentation for her on the Island of Bermuda on October 11 with a motorcade in her honour prior to meeting the Premier. .
Duffy said. “I think it will be nice to come back and celebrate. But I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty devastated and it just won’t be the same.”
