Teenager Flora Duffy, the youngest competitor in the field, stamped her authority on the world of triathlon with an absolutely sensational performance at the Commonwealth Games this morning.

Slashing an incredible four and a half minutes off her personal best for the Olympic distance, the 18-year-old Bermudian romped home in eighth place, leaving a former women?s world champion and a slew of the world?s top 40-ranked triathletes in her wake.

Her time of two hours, 35.13 seconds is almost certain to vault her into the senior world rankings for the first time and establish her as one of the favourites for this summer?s World 18-and-under championships in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Looking as fresh crossing the finish line as she had two hours earlier when plunging into the cool waters off the Melbourne suburb of St. Kilda, Duffy appeared as stunned as those in the Bermuda contingent around her as the realisation of her accomplishment sunk in.

Her coach Richard Brady, from Devon in England, where the former Front Street Mile champion and record holder now attends school, called it one of the most spectacular performances he had ever witnessed.

Brady, on the verge of tears, was the first to embrace his pupil before Duffy was engulfed by a deliriously happy band of supporters, Bermuda coach Neil de Ste Croix, Triathlon Association president Steve Petty and Sports Minister Dale Butler included.

Going into an event packed with the might of world triathlon, Duffy had cautiously hoped for a top 15 finish.

But those expectations quickly changed after she emerged from the two-lap 1.5 kilometre swim in the lead pack and settled into a group of 13 cyclists who rapidly distanced themselves from the field.

With just one lap of the five-lap 40 kilometre cycling course remaining, Duffy even hit the front to an enormous cheer from her Bermuda following.

On-course commentators and Australian TV quickly latched onto the story, scrambling through their list of Games biographies to describe the sport?s ?new find?, expert analysts calling Duffy ?the name of the future.?

Shedding tears of joy, Duffy said: ?I can?t believe it. Never could I have dreamed of this. I was hoping for the top half of the field, thinking 15th or something but not top ten. It?s amazing!

?The swim . . . I just had an amazing start, I got off the pontoon well and had open water in front of me. It was a bit rough around the first buoy but I just stuck in there and then I came out of the water and I saw (2005 world champion) Emma Snowshill beside me. And I thought ? Oh my God, what am I doing.?

?Then on the bike I couldn?t believe where I was, right up the front. But I felt comfortable.

?I knew all these girls could run faster than me and I?m thinking what am I going to do, but when I got on the run I just held my pace and it worked.

?I?ve been training hard and my coach Rich Brady has been really amazing, but I don?t think either of us expected this.?

While Duffy stole the show, her compatriot Karen Smith had to settle for 24th out of the 25 competitors, one of whom didn?t finish.

Still fighting to regain her full fitness after an horrific injury while competing in Hawaii last year, Smith, the oldest competitor in the field at 37, was last to emerge from the water and was never able to make up ground, eventually clocking 2:22:22.46.

But the story of the day was Duffy and nobody was more elated than coach Brady.

?What a fantastic day,? he said. ?Words can?t describe how I feel right now.

?She?s just done everything right in the last six months. Everything has been focused on these Games.

?The potential is enormous. Everything is in front of Flora now. She?s got the Olympics in two years, and as she showed today she?s up there with the best in the world and she?s only 18.

?She?s getting fitter and faster, those girls are already at the top of their game, so they?ve got to watch out.

?She?s just got to run a little quicker, she?s already off the bike with the best in the world.

?This time last year she was five minutes slower, so you can see how she?s improved. She?s only got to run a couple of minutes quicker and she?s the gold medallist.

?What she?s done today is simply amazing.?

Those who finished behind Duffy included former world champion Leanda Cave from Wales (13th) and the tenth ranked triathlete in the world, Australia?s Felicity Abram (14th). Just one place and 24 seconds in front of the Bermudian was England?s sixth-ranked Andrea Whitcombe, who Duffy had been closing in on late in the race.

Gold went to Australia?s Snowshill in 1:58:02.6, silver to New Zealand?s Samantha Warriner (1:58:38.86) and the bronze to another Kiwi, Andrea Hewitt (1:58:46.08).

Elsewhere this morning, swimmers Ronald Cowen and Graham Smith found themselves in the same heat of the 100 metres freestyle, finishing seventh and eighth respectively.

Cowen clocked 53.29 seconds and Smith 54.49, both failing to advance to the semi-finals. Of the 41 swimmers who competed in six heats, Cowen?s time ranked 23rd and Smith?s 26th.

Bermuda?s small bore shooters, Sinclair Raynor and Ross Roberts, also saw action at the Melbourne Shooting Club, placing 16th out of 19 in the Rifle Prone Pairs Qualification.

Their combined score of 1105 (Raynor 538 and Roberts 567) left them ahead of the teams from Antigua, St. Helena and Nigeria. Victory went to England?s Mike Babb and Chris Hector with a score of 1182.