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But in the early hours of Tuesday morning, a small island in the Atlantic added its name to the medalist list as Bermuda outdid itself to become the smallest country to win gold.
Overwhelmed with emotion as the enormity of her achievement crumbled – Tokyo 2020 is her fourth Olympics – Duffy collapsed to the ground with her hands on her face.
“I really hope it inspires the youth of Bermuda that we come from a small country – but that doesn’t mean we can’t do great things on the world stage,” Duffy told CNN’s Coy Wire. .
Duffy had felt the hopes of his small nation rest on his shoulders, adding: “Coming to Tokyo, I really knew there were a lot of expectations to win a medal. We don’t exactly have people going to. all the Olympics with medal chances. “
She did not disappoint, taking first place for more than a minute ahead of Briton Georgia Taylor-Brown and American Katie Zaferes.
The two women are friends of Duffy who “run together all the time on the circuit,” the 33-year-old said. Bermudian. Getting on the podium with his friends after his win was “super special,” Duffy said, adding that “I kind of realized… dreams come true”.
Duffy’s gold medal is the light at the end of a dark tunnel, after battling an injury, anemia and depression that nearly ended his career. Her preparations for Tokyo 2020 were hampered by a foot injury that kept her from competing for a year.
Duffy’s victory was “the culmination of all the hard work it took to get to this point, all the hardships, all the injuries. The postponement, the extra year… it all came together”, she said, referring to Tokyo 2020 being delayed for a year.
Duffy did not finish his run at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing after a bicycle accident, and even quit the sport for a short time. She then obtained a degree in sociology from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
More than a decade later, Duffy edged out its competition in Tokyo.
“With around half a mile to go it slowly started to sink,” she said of her victory. “I looked at pictures of myself along the finish drop and it was a crazy array of emotions. Definitely a lot of tears,” Duffy said.
This is not the first time that Duffy has won gold for his country, also winning the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in Australia. In the same year, Prince Charles awarded him an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
There will undoubtedly be celebrations with us in Bermuda. This is only the second time the country has won an Olympic medal, after boxer Clarence Hill won bronze in 1976.
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