World Triathlon Championship Series: Flora Duffy beats Georgia Taylor-Brown to women's title
- Published
Duffy is one of the legends of the sport
Bermuda's Flora Duffy got the better of Britain's Georgia Taylor-Brown in the Abu Dhabi heat to win a record fourth World Triathlon title.
The win also gave the 35-year-old Olympic and Commonwealth champion victory in the Championship series.
Duffy moved clear of the Briton midway through the 10km run and quickly pulled away with Taylor-Brown unable to respond.
She clocked one hour 53 minutes and 24 seconds; Taylor-Brown 64 seconds back.
Duffy and Taylor-Brown had been well-placed in the leading group throughout the swim and bike sections.
A four-strong group came into the final transition together and it was Taylor-Brown who emerged first and started the run strongly, building up an early lead over Duffy.
But Duffy was patient and gradually closed the gap before taking over at the head of the field to finish her year on a high.
"I'm really, really proud of this one," said Duffy, whose previous world titles came in 2016, 2017 and 2021.
"I smiled a few times when it was just me and Georgia. I feel like she brings me to another level. We don't really give each other an inch and I just wanted to stay safe because it's super hot out there.
"When I got a little bit of a gap on the third lap of the run it was a little sooner than I anticipated but I thought,'well, gotta go now!'"
Taylor-Brown, who finished second behind Duffy in both the Olympics and Commonwealth Games individual races, was still pleased with her performance.
"I'm really proud of myself out there today and giving it everything and doing all I could," said the 28-year-old.
"We were battling it out to the end and I wouldn't have it any other way - and I don't think she would. I'm still learning in every race and I still want that world title one day."