Flora Duffy produced one of the best performances of her career to finish fourth at the World Triathlon Series race in Australia yesterday.

The Bermuda triathlete recovered from a slow start on the Gold Coast to give herself a genuine shot at a podium finish in a field packed full of athletes seeking to qualify for the Olympics.

Duffy was ultimately pushed out of the top three in a sprint for the line, with Gwen Jorgensen, who trailed after the 40-kilometre bike ride, making up more than a minute to grab second.

Helen Jenkins, of Britain, won in 1hr 56min 3sec, with Jorgensen 41 seconds behind in 1:56:44. Andrea Hewitt, whom Duffy briefly overtook in the closing stages of the 10km run, finished third in 1:56:45, with Duffy a further 13 seconds back.

Duffy exited the water well down the field, but took full advantage of her skills on the bike to eventually pull away in a group alongside Jenkins and Hewitt.

The trio opened a gap of more than a minute on the chasing pack, and Duffy entered the second transition ahead of the rest after finishing the ride in 1:01:39, with Jenkins and Hewitt close behind.

From then, it was a straight race for the line, with Jenkins moving ahead early and ultimately never relinquishing her lead.

Hewitt and Duffy had more than a minute’s head start on Jorgensen, but the American, who dominated the WTS events last year, chipped away at the pair and, with less than a kilometre left, hauled in Duffy and then passed Hewitt right at the finish line.

• The stage is set for Bermuda’s first International Aquathlon today at Clearwater Beach.

Similar to a triathlon, but with two sets of running to go with the swim, the aquathlon will be in the same format as that used for the Cozumel ITU Aquathlon World Championships this year, starting with a 2.5km run, a 1,000 metres swim and a second 2.5km run for the seniors around Cooper’s Island.

For the top three male and female finishers in the full race there will be prize money of $750 for first place, $500 for second and $250 for third.

There will also be a relay division and junior age group races for 11-12 and 13-15 age groups.

The 11-12 competitors will run a 1km race, swim 200 metres and then finish with a 1km run, while the older juniors will run a 2km race, 400 metres swim and another 2km run.