While Bermuda is a British Overseas territory and is not a member of the United Nations, it is among the 204 nations which send athletes to the Olympic Games. Located in the North Atlantic Ocean 665 miles east-southeast of Cape Hatteras, it has a land mass of 20.6 square miles and has a population of 64,237.
Bermuda has been sending athletes – mainly track and field – to the Olympics since 1936 and has one medalist - boxer Clarence Hill won bronze in 1976. As for triathlon, the sport has two Bermudians with Olympic experience and notable international credentials.
Like fellow Bermudian Tyler Butterfield, Flora Duffy is a two-time Olympian - with a DNF in 2008 and 45th place in 2014. She gets the edge over her countryman due to her three world titles – she took gold at the 2014 and 2015 XTERRA Worlds and at the 2015 Cross Triathlon World Championship. She also had a better record at regular ITU Olympic distance events – she took bronze at the 2015 Pan American Games and in 2015 is becoming a threat to medal at the 2016 Olympics with a 3rd at WTS Abu Dhabi, 5th at WTS Gold Coast, 4th at WTS Stockholm, and 2nd at WTS Edmonton.
Tyler Butterfield competed in the 2004 and 2012 Olympics. Internationally he finished 5th at the 2015 Ironman World Championship and 7th at Kona in 2013. He won the prestigious Abu Dhabi International long course event in 2014, took 3rd there in 2013 and was 2nd at Ironman Cozumel in 2013.
Not unlike Australia, Canada has an abundance of internationally renowned triathletes.
By the slimmest of margins, the choice is Simon Whitfield. Whitfield was a young longshot at the inaugural 2000 Olympic Triathlon who picked himself off the ground after a collision with 14 riders in the bike portion, worked his way back to the leaders and eked out the win with a race-best 30:53 run. In the 2008 Olympics, Whitfield took silver, surging from 4th to the lead on the final lap of the run before Jan Frodeno took charge in the final chute. Whitfield won gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, won a five-man battle for a photo finish $200,000 win at the 2009 Hy-Vee Elite Cup and took 12 ITU World Cup wins.
Similar to Australia, Canada has several outstanding candidates who came close. Carol Montgomery won silver in 1990 and 2000 at the ITU Olympic distance World Championships and took a bronze in 1996. She took silver at the 1993 ITU Duathlon World Championship, bronze at the 1999 Pan American Games and gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Lori Bowden won the 1999 and 2003 Ironman World Championship and earned Kona podiums from 1998 through 2003. She is a 5-time Ironman Canada winner, and 3-time champion at Ironman Austria and Ironman Australia. If any other list picked Peter Reid as Canada’s top triathlete, I would be fine with that choice. He won the Ironman World Championship three times (1998, 2000, 2003), was a Kona runner-up three times (1999, 2002, 2004) and was 3rd in 2005. Reid won Ironman Canada in 2000 and 2001, Ironman Australia in 1997 and 1998, Ironman Lanzarote in 1997 and Ironman Austria in 1999 with a PR of 7:51:56.
The country with the world’s largest population is China with 1.4 billion persons. China has many fewer triathletes although that number is bound to grow as China’s Dalian Wanda Group purchased Ironman last year. Nonetheless, China is famous for pursuing any and all Olympic sports and has had Olympic triathlon presence every year since 2004.
Zhang Yi is chosen as much for her nation’s potential as for her ranking as China’s best international triathlete.
She is notable for her two Olympic appearances – 42nd in 2008 and 50th in 2012 as well as 1st at the 2015 Chinese National Championship. That is a light international footprint but with China’s economic and demographic resources and relentless Olympic aspirations there will be more to come.
Cristian Bustos remains a legend not only as Chile's first international triathlon star but also for his remarkable recovery from near-fatal injuries suffered when he was run over by a jeep in an Argentine triathlon in January of 1994. His career breakthrough was a win at Ironman Brazil in 1989, but he became a triathlon headliner when he fought an exciting elbow-to-elbow duel with Mark Allen through 15 miles of the run at the 1992 Ironman World Championship before succumbing to The Grip’s final surge. His two biggest wins were Ironman Europe at Roth in 1993 and Ironman Canada in 1998.
Barbara Riveros is closest to Bustos. The 2012 Olympian won gold in 2015 and silver in 2011 at the Pan American games. She took gold at the 2011 ITU Worlds sprint distance and was 2nd at 2012 and 2014 XTERRA World Championship. She won the 2011 Ishigaki World Cup, took 2nd at the 2011 Sydney round of the ITU World Championship Series and 2nd at the 2010 Seoul World Cup.
Filip Ospaly is a 3-time Olympian for the Czech Republic, with a best finish of 20th in 2008. Ospaly also won the 2006 ITU European Duathlon Championships, was 4th at the 1996 ITU Olympic Distance World Championship, took 2nd at the 2010 Ironman 70.3 Worlds and won St. Anthony’s in 2011.
Vendula Frintova is the next best triathlete from the Czech Republic with a 3rd at the 2015 New Plymouth World Cup, 2nd at the 2013 Tongyeong World Cup, 1st at the 2010 Mooloolaba World Cup, 1st at the 2009 Duathlon World Championship, 23rd at the 2008 Olympics, and 2nd at the 2004 and 2005 Under23 ITU Olympic distance World Championship.
