Updated July 10, 2025 02:25PM
Bermuda Celebrates Flora Duffy's Historic Gold Medal
For Bermuda, Flora Duffy isn’t just a gold medalist - she’s a hometown hero.
Flora Duffy celebrates her historic gold medal. (Photo: Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
Flora Duffy has dreamed of Olympic gold since she was a kid doing triathlon with her local club team on the tiny island of Bermuda. But the odds of it remaining just that—a dream—were stacked against her. After all, Bermuda had never won a gold medal in any sport in the Olympics. Before the Tokyo Games, the island nation (population: 62,000) had only one medal to its count, a bronze earned by boxer Clarence Hill in 1976.
Needless to say, Flora Duffy’s historic win in Tokyo earlier this week was a big deal. They’re also now the smallest nation, by population, to ever win a Summer Games gold medal. As she said in interviews throughout this week, the win meant so much more than just her dream, it also showed those back at home that even if you’re from a small island you can dream big.
Official reaction
Government officials in Bermuda were quick to celebrate their speedy constituent as well, leading many to believe “Flora Duffy Day” will soon be an official holiday in Bermuda—but so far the government has said they’re checking first with her family to find out when she’ll be landing back on the island, which may not be until she comes there to compete in the world mixed relay championships in Bermuda in October. (An event bound now to have the entire island turn out.)
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