An Olympic medal in 2012 has certainly entered her thoughts, but Flora Duffy seems determined right now to play down the significance of her stunning ninth-placed finish in the Hamburg World Cup Triathlon last Sunday.

Those in the know have never doubted the 19-year-old Bermudian?s immense potential, but the speed with which she has progressed from one of the world?s top juniors to a real force at a senior level has caught everybody by surprise ? perhaps even herself.

An eighth-placed finish at the Commonwealth Games in Australia last March was impressive enough, but to follow this up with a top-ten effort in only her second World Cup race against the best triathletes in the world has made it clear that barring injury, Duffy has it in her to become the Island?s most successful athlete ever.

The world junior silver medallist completed the Hamburg triathlon in one hour, 55 minutes and 47 seconds ? comfortably the fastest teenager and only two-and-a-half minutes behind winner and world number one Vanessa Fernandez of Portugal.

But speaking from school in the UK yesterday, where she is getting ready for her third World Cup race in Beijing, China next week, Duffy said that while she was ?very hopeful? of making it to the 2008 Olympics, she had thrived up to now by not putting too much pressure on herself.

?Every race is different and while things went way better than expected in Hamburg, you just do not know what is going to happen so I?m not getting ahead of myself,? she said, soon after interrupting an afternoon gym session to speak with

?I?m still young and this all very new. Taking part in these World Cup races is simply about gaining experience at the moment. I have no expectations, I just go out there and compete to the best of my ability and the results take care of themselves.

?If I do well then that?s great, but I do not need a lot of pressure on me at the moment. Even if I get to the Beijing Olympics, again it will just be about the experience and using it to try and improve.

?Most triathletes don?t reach their peak until their mid-to-late 20s ? and there are even a few girls out there still doing well over 30 ? so there is plenty of time.

?But an Olympic medal is the ultimate goal and for me I?m looking at the London Olympics in 2012 as being a realistic target. I?ll be older, stronger and a lot more experienced by that point and as long as I stay injury-free, then I would hope to be in a position to challenge for a medal.

?To do it in England would be special as well. I?ve done so much training here and a lot of my family and friends are over here so to win an Olympic medal in front of them would be fantastic.?

After a long season of competition, Duffy admitted to being a bit jaded yesterday and looking forward to some time away from her demanding training schedule.

Along with her coach Richard Brady, who is the head of triathlon at the her school Kelly College in Devon and manager Patty Petty, Duffy leaves for Beijing this coming Monday and will have just under a week to recover from the ten-hour flight and acclimatise to the conditions.

This next race will be her last World Cup event of the year, though she still intends to compete in a couple of Continental Cup races ? professional triathlon?s ?second? division ? before Christmas comes around.

?I?m pretty tired at the moment to be honest,? she said.

?After a while all the travelling, training and the racing starts to take its toll but I should be alright by next week. The season as whole though has gone incredibly well ? I really did not expect this at all. I?m feeling a lot more confident at the senior level now. During my first World Cup race in Salford (where she came 24th) I was very unsure of myself but now I feel like I can compete with the top girls.?

Duffy is currently 43rd on the Olympic qualifying standings and must place in the top 55 to be guaranteed a place in Beijing.

However, given her age, the fact that she comes from a small country and that she has already secured a top-ten finish in a World Cup event, it is likely she will be allowed to compete as a wildcard even if she finishes below the cut-off point.