TEEANGE Flora Duffy plunges into the frigid water off Lausanne, Switzerland this weekend in the World Triathlon Championships (Junior Elite Division) along with 50-60 of the world's best. And then a few days later it is off to Hamburg, Germany for a World Cup event. Next summer Duffy will compete at the Pan American Games in Brazil and hopefully it will all culminate with a spot on Bermuda's 2008 Olympic team bound for Beijing, China.

It is all coming along quite fast for the 18-year-old Bermudian who raised eyebrows earlier this year among the world's triathlon community with her superb eighth-place finish at the Commonwealth Games where she was competing against athletes a number of years her senior. And it was only earlier this summer that Duffy stood on the victory podium after winning the Junior London Triathlon.

"Getting to China for the Olympics is my goal," said Duffy before leaving for Switzerland this week. One thing she will not be relishing in Switzerland is the cold water and generally cool conditions which is expected for her World Championship race tomorrow.

"Right now the water there is 19 degrees (Celsius). That is wetsuit legal but the temperature changes every day so they test it an hour before the race to say whether you will be allowed to wear a wetsuit. If it is only 20 degrees then you are not allowed to wear a wetsuit ? and that is pretty cold! And then the air temperature there is like 55-60 (F) so it is not warm outside either."

Right now she feels in good shape to take on the best in the world. "I do not have any injuries and I am in good shape and the training has been going well. I did have a bit of a knee injury a few weeks ago but that has cleared up ? at least it did not stop my training."

Duffy swims with her club Sharks and then when she goes out on the bike she cycles with local coach and veteran triathlon athlete Neil de Ste Croix.

"When it comes to running I generally do that by myself," she added.

After the Worlds in Switzerland and the World Cup triathlon in Hamburg next weekend, it is back to school at Kelly College in Devon where she trains under the watchful eye of one of the UK's leading triathlon coaches, Rich Brady, and swimming director and former Commonwealth Games medallist and record holder, Robin Brew.

"I am in Devon for another two years and it is a good place to train although it can get a little cold in the winter.

"The country roads are great to ride on and we have a 25-metre pool to train in although we often go to a friend's house who has a 50-metre pool," said Duffy who acknowledged that while the pool training was very important it cannot duplicate the conditions of swimming in the open water of a triathlon.

"There is a big adjustment going from the pool to open water ? it is completely different. In a pool you have turns but in the open water there are so many girls around you and you are all going for that one buoy so it is a bit a bottle neck at times. And you can get kicked and punched because there are so many of you. Sighting can also be a problem."

In her first World Cup triathlon Duffy the kicked and punched in the nose but she said "every race is different".

"You will usually split into two groups and you can get some clear water but that race (World Cup) was a bit rough. You have to learn to take care of yourself. In training we try and simulate those conditions as much as possible because you never know what is going to happen ? every triathlon is different. Some days are hard, some days are fine."

Duffy also puts in quite a bit of time practising the transitions. "We work on them a lot because they are so important. It can mean the difference of being in the first pack of the bike and the second pack," she said.

Of the three disciplines Duffy feels that her running is the strongest. "My running has come along well in the last year or so," said the Bermudian.

Duffy will not be by herself in Switzerland. Besides Patti Petty who organises her schedule and the like, three other triathletes from Bermuda ? Karen Smith, Dee McMullen and Ellen Charnley ? will be competing in the 35-39 amateur group.

"It is a lot nicer to have other people there as well ? you get some local support. Last year I travelled to the Worlds by myself with just with my parents and it was not the same. It is so much easier to have other athletes from Bermuda with you ? people who are going through the same things as you. I will be supporting them they will be supporting me. And Patti is great ? she enters me in all my races and basically sorts things out for me so I just concentrate on the sport."

She is also looking forward to the Pan Am Games next year in Brazil and hopes that a big Bermuda team will be going.

"When I go to just triathlons it is usually just me but this year I really enjoyed the Commonwealth Games in Australia because there were a lot of other Bermuda athletes from other sports. It makes it so much more fun ? it is a great atmosphere and you meet so many other people. At Commonwealth Games I met so many other fellow Bermuda athletes that I had not met before and now I am good friends with them all."