Short course legend Flora Duffy made a remarkable return to racing last weekend, as the Olympic Champion raced for the first time in over 500 days at WTCS Yokohama.

Having last competed in November 2022 at the WTCS Grand Final in Abu Dhabi, which she won, the Bermudian has struggled with a persistent knee injury which has hampered her training for the past 18 months.

Aiming to become the first female triathlete to ever defend their Olympic title, this weekend’s result was more than a step in the right direction, as the 36-year-old impressed with a strong swim, bike and run.

“I had to come back from the dead”

Having lost almost 20 seconds over the first lap of the 1500m swim, it looked like Duffy would miss the front pack. However, she remarkably made up the deficit over the second lap, exiting with the leaders and making the breakaway group on to the bike.

Riding strongly, Duffy never looked out of place on the bike and was ever present at the front of the race, as the lead pack of athletes built up a comfortable buffer over the chasers, which included 2016 Olympic gold medalist Gwen Jorgensen.

Out on the run, the Bermudian didn’t have the legs to battle for the podium, but still ran a strong 10km to finish in seventh, mixing it up with some of the best athletes from the last 12 months all the way to the finish line.

Next up, Duffy will race at WTCS Cagliari in a fortnight, where she will face off against fellow gold medal contenders Beth Potter and Cassandre Beaugrand, before the final stretch into the Olympic on July 31.