Flora Duffy has thrown her support behind Bermuda hosting the ITU Continental Cup Triathlon next year.

The multiple world champion said having such an event on the island will bode well for the development of young triathletes.

“I think hosting a Continental Cup is great for triathlon development in Bermuda,” Duffy said. “I wish there had been a Continental Cup in Bermuda when I was 18 years old.

“More Bermudian junior and under-23 athletes will be exposed to Continental Cup level racing, which is great.

A home event removes any barriers for entry, like having to travel, the cost of travel and taking time off school.

Hosting an event should allow more Bermudians to race and get a taste of high-level triathlon.”

Aaron Smith, the Bermuda Triathlon Association director, revealed at a press conference at the Bermuda Tourism Authority last week that Bermuda will host the ITU Continental Cup Triathlon in April, 2017.

It will be the first time the island has hosted an ITU event since three World Cup competitions were held between 1995 and 1997.

“It is a very exciting time for triathlon in Bermuda,” added Duffy, who was voted athlete of the year by TriathlonWorld.com this week.

“I hope holding the event in Bermuda inspires others to take part in triathlon at any level and any stage of life. It is not just limited to young up-and-coming athletes.

“The triathlon community is great in Bermuda and there are many local events on throughout the year, so I would encourage anyone who is on the edge of whether to do a triathlon, to go for it.”

Duffy has ruled herself out of the competing, though.

“I’ll leave the Continental Cups to the juniors and under-23 racers — they don’t want me in the race,” she said.

Senator Michael Fahy, the Minister of Tourism, Transport and Municipalities, announced during last week’s press conference that Bermuda lost its bid to host the 2020 ITU World Triathlon Series Grand Final and were instead awarded three ITU World Series events in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Duffy, the reining ITU women’s world champion, is looking forward to competing in the ITU World Series on home turf.

“The events in 2019 and 2020 will be during the Olympic qualification period so those two races, in particular, will be crucial to my build-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.”