Dominant Duffy completes hat-trick of victories

HAMBURG, Germany, CMC – Bermudian triathlete Flora Duffy won her third straight World Triathlon Series (WTS) event of the season in Hamburg on Saturday by a record margin to move up to fourth in the standings.
Duffy, the reigning world champion, won in a time of 59 minutes. Australia’s Ashleigh Gentle finished second in 59:31 with Duffy’s winning margin of 31 seconds the widest in a sprint race. Laura Lindemann, of Germany, completed the podium in 59:41.
“I really actually can’t believe it,” Duffy said after collecting her first-ever sprint distance win following a typically strong performance on the bike.
“Coming into the third race I felt a lot of pressure, especially it being a sprint and in Hamburg, I have not raced here in years. So, I just really had to go for it.
“I tried to race fast from start to finish and I had to make the most on the bike because I knew that my run pace speed was not at the same level as some of the top runners are, so I just took a chance and luckily it worked out.
The victory was Duffy’s third in a row after winning in Leeds, England last month and Yokohama, Japan in May, having missed the first two WTS races of the season, in Abu Dhabi in March and Gold Coast in April, with a hip injury.
Despite missing those first two races of the season, victory in Hamburg moved Duffy up to fourth in the overall WTS rankings on 2,400 points with overall leader Katie Zaferes, the American who finished fourth in Hamburg in 59:42, on 2,507.
Duffy will have the chance to take over the overall lead when the series resumes in Edmonton, Canada, in two weeks’ time.