<p>Flora Duffy made Olympic history on Tuesday, winning the women's triathlon in Tokyo to give the tiny island of Bermuda their first-ever gold medal.</p>.<p>The 33-year-old timed 1hr 55min 36sec to come home more than a minute ahead of Britain's Georgia Taylor-Brown (1:56.50), with American Katie Zaferes (1:57.03) taking the bronze.</p>.<p>Duffy's success makes Bermuda the smallest nation in terms of population -- around 70,000 -- to ever win a medal at a Summer Games.</p>.<p>For Duffy it was a welcome reward after persistent injuries and a diagnosis of anaemia in 2013.</p>.<p>She quit the sport after failing to finish the event at the 2008 Beijing Games and started working in a shop in Bermuda before eventually returning to the sport after studing for a degree.</p>.<p>In a race delayed by 15 minutes because of slippery conditions following heavy overnight rain, Duffy took control in the final running section.</p>.<p>She had opened up a lead of almost a minute after the first of four laps and was never under threat from then on.</p>.<p>The broad grin she sported entering the finishing straight gave way to tears at the realisation of what she had achieved as she crossed the line.</p>.<p>Taylor-Brown looked proud as she overcame the frustration of suffering a flat rear tyre in the cycling section of the race.</p>.<p>That misfortune left her 22 seconds off the lead quartet at the beginning of the running section but she quickly made up the lost ground.</p>.<p>Switzerland's 2012 Olympic champion Nicola Spirig, 39, who won silver at the 2016 Rio Games, was sixth.</p>.<p>Bermuda's only previous Olympic medallist was boxer Clarence Hill, who won a bronze in 1976.</p>
<p>Flora Duffy made Olympic history on Tuesday, winning the women's triathlon in Tokyo to give the tiny island of Bermuda their first-ever gold medal.</p>.<p>The 33-year-old timed 1hr 55min 36sec to come home more than a minute ahead of Britain's Georgia Taylor-Brown (1:56.50), with American Katie Zaferes (1:57.03) taking the bronze.</p>.<p>Duffy's success makes Bermuda the smallest nation in terms of population -- around 70,000 -- to ever win a medal at a Summer Games.</p>.<p>For Duffy it was a welcome reward after persistent injuries and a diagnosis of anaemia in 2013.</p>.<p>She quit the sport after failing to finish the event at the 2008 Beijing Games and started working in a shop in Bermuda before eventually returning to the sport after studing for a degree.</p>.<p>In a race delayed by 15 minutes because of slippery conditions following heavy overnight rain, Duffy took control in the final running section.</p>.<p>She had opened up a lead of almost a minute after the first of four laps and was never under threat from then on.</p>.<p>The broad grin she sported entering the finishing straight gave way to tears at the realisation of what she had achieved as she crossed the line.</p>.<p>Taylor-Brown looked proud as she overcame the frustration of suffering a flat rear tyre in the cycling section of the race.</p>.<p>That misfortune left her 22 seconds off the lead quartet at the beginning of the running section but she quickly made up the lost ground.</p>.<p>Switzerland's 2012 Olympic champion Nicola Spirig, 39, who won silver at the 2016 Rio Games, was sixth.</p>.<p>Bermuda's only previous Olympic medallist was boxer Clarence Hill, who won a bronze in 1976.</p>
