Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Flora Duffy is relishing a brand new triathlon challenge after making her T100 debut.
The 37-year-old closed the door on her Olympic career with a fifth place finish at Paris 2024 and has since made the switch to the longer distance.
It marks the launch of part two of the triathlete's glittering career, joining the T100 midseason and opening her campaign with a ninth-place finish in Ibiza.
Having already achieved everything she dreamed of in short course triathlon, Duffy admitted she is enjoying shifting her view to a new challenge.
"After I won the Olympics in Tokyo, a lot of people asked me if I am going to retire," she said.
Every point matters in the penultimate race before the Grand Final 👊@floraduffy is gunning for a T100 podium. Will Lake Las Vegas be her time to shine? pic.twitter.com/pH4nipk6Hg
— T100 Triathlon World Tour (@t100triathlon) October 15, 2024
"Olympic gold was my ultimate goal from when I was a little kid and it was so meaningful and so powerful and meant so much to Bermuda and everyone there. That race in Paris was possibly was my last short course race.
"I am now lifting my head out of being in that super tunnel vision of preparing for an Olympic Games, and shifting my view onto what's next and paying more attention to the T100 series.
"Now you're racing a different distance, you're training is changing, you're riding a different bike.
"My mind is definitely shifting to part two of my career, which is racing in the middle distance and the T100 series and I’m looking forward to this exciting new distance with so many incredible women to race against."
Off the back of a difficult season that saw her preparation for Paris hindered by injury, Duffy's top 10 finish in her maiden T100 race has proved that she is not one to be ignored.
After a characteristically strong swim, Duffy faded on the bike before pulling back during the 18km run and is targeting the podium in Vegas.
"I’m coming in midway through the season so it’s a little bit strange because everyone's been racing each other throughout the year," she said.
"I think anything could happen, to be perfectly honest. I’m settling into some longer training, getting used to the longer efforts and I'm really excited.
"I might have won an Olympics, but that doesn't really mean too much racing over the 100km distance because it's completely different.
"I want to be up there fighting for the win and fighting for the podium. So that's definitely my goal racing in the T100 Series and racing in Lake Las Vegas."
Despite being on the backfoot compared to the rest of the field when it comes to T100 experience, Duffy is still keen to prove her strengths on the start line whilst experiencing the excitement of a new format of middle distance triathlon racing.
And with dreams of a possible Vegas victory, the lure of once again proving herself as the best in the world is calling.
"Having the same 20 women on the start line who are the best in the world over this distance at each and every single race - it just intensifies the race experience," she said.
"You can't make a mistake if you want to win these races. So I know it's a tall order.
"I know what it takes to get there. It also definitely means that if you have a bad day, you might have a really bad day.
"If I could cross the line first, it would be really special for me and prove that I still can be one of the best in the world."
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