Professional triathlete Flora Duffy will lead a 24-strong Bermuda contingent to the ITU Age Group World Championships in London from September 13-15.Duffy, who recently graduated from college in Colorado, will compete on the London Olympic course which involves a 1500 metre swim, 40K cycle ride and 10K run.It was on the same course that she suffered a cycling mishap that dashed her Olympic hopes of a top finish.Several other amateur Bermuda residents will also tackle that course while some will compete in the sprint event, half the distance of the Olympic course.Among the amateurs are Duffy’s parents, Charlie and Maria, who will be in the 60-64 age group, as will veteran Steven Petty who has been competing in local and overseas triathlons for more than over 30 years.Included in the 17 local male participants are Tucker Murphy, Jonathan Herring, Adam Hopkin and Neil de Ste Croix while the women’s group includes Laurie Orchard, Belinda Castree, Deanna Didyk and Laura Norman.“We are very pleased to have such a large contingent headed to London,” said triathlon official Tim Goodyer who will be one of the competitors.“It is indicative of the growing popularity of the sport of triathlon here. Bermuda is such a great place for triathletes to train with easy access to the water, as well as the rolling hills and heat which build up great strength levels on the bike and run.“The event is officially called the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final as it is the culmination of the ITU Triathlon series. It is being held in London this year, in Hyde Park, at the same venue as the Olympics Triathlon. They have slightly altered the course from the Olympics, because in the Age Group World Championships you will have about 2,000 competitors on the course, so it’s a bit more of a logistical challenge compared to the 55 athletes they had in the Olympic Men and Women’s events respectively.“London is much more accessible for our athletes than Auckland, New Zealand, where it was hosted last year, and Beijing where it was held in 2011. So that’s obviously another reason for the increased numbers. We as a committee hope to continue to build Bermuda’s participation in this annual event, when it is hosted in Edmonton, Canada in 2014.”Duffy will be competing in the Elite women’s race on the Saturday, the day after her parents take part in the Sprint distance event.“I wouldn’t be surprised to see them placing very high up,” said Goodyer. “Steven Petty, one of our founding members is also competing in the same category as Charlie Duffy and has combined his sprint training with longer distance training for a half Ironman in Miami at the end of October, so we are expecting a strong performance from him.“Neil de Ste Croix, a former BTA president, will also be looking to have a good race in the men’s 45 to 49 age group. In total we have six local athletes competing (in the Sprint) — Charlie Duffy, Maria Duffy, Neil de St Croix, Steven Petty, Matthew Claridge and Carolyn Conway.”Since graduating from the University of Colorado, Boulder in June with a BA in Sociology, Duffy has been able to turn her attention to her career as a professional triathlete.She has been working hard in Boulder under the watchful eye of her coach Neal Henderson.The majority of the Bermuda triathletes will competing in the Olympic distance event on the Sunday.“I am sure they are going to find the lower temperatures of London a welcome relief compared to the furnace like conditions they faced up at Clearwater during the NatWest Island Games,” added Goodyer who will be among that group.“Laurie Orchard has had an outstanding year and backed up her bronze medal at the NWIG (Island Games) with a great performance to finish sixth in her Age Group in the World Duathlon Championships in Ottawa. Her focus the last few weeks has just been to make sure she has recovered well enough to throw out one more big performance in London.“Tucker Murphy had a superb race at the NWIG to finish sixth overall. He had the fastest run split of the day in that event, which I think bodes really well for London, given how hot it was, so we hope he will be able to put in another top class performance. Jonathan Herring is our national Olympic distance champion and he will also be looking for a big performance in London.“Tyler Butterfield won’t be participating in the Elite Men’s event which immediately follows the Age Group Olympic event on the Sunday as his focus this year has been on the longer distances and we are all very excited to see how he gets on at the Ironman World Championships in Kona in October after some strong performances in both full Ironman distance events and half Ironman events.“Underlining the strength of triathlon in Bermuda, we currently have four athletes qualified for the Ironman World Championships this year — Tyler, Karen Smith, Julia Hawley and Mark Wilcox.The full Bermuda party:Men: Steven Petty (60-64) sprint; Tucker Murphy (30-34) Olympic; Mark Wilcox (45-49) Olympic; Jonathan Herring (30-34) Olympic; Adam Hopkin (35-39) Olympic; Timothy Goodyer (35-39) Olympic; Ian Henderson (30-34) Olympic; Mark Booth (40-44) Olympic; Dennis Fagundo (35-39) Olympic; Charles Duffy (60-64) Sprint; Geoff Smith (45-49) Olympic; Matthew Thompson (40-44) Olympic; Duncan Scott (50-54) Olympic; Russell Burgess (35-39) Olympic; Barry Murphy (30-34) Olympic; Matthew Claridge (30-34) Sprint; Neil de St Croix (45-49) Sprint.Women: Flora Duffy (Pro) Olympic; Deanna Didyk (40-44) Olympic; Laurie Orchard (40-44) Olympic; Belinda Castree (35-39) Olympic; Laura Norman (20-24) Olympic; Maria Duffy (60-64) Sprint; Carolyn Conway (55-59) Sprint.