--- description: History was made in Tokyo as Flora Duffy for Bermuda and Hidilyn Diaz for the Philippines won their country's first-ever gold medals title: Bermuda and the Philippines Have Won Their First Olympic Gold Medals—Ever image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8a2acf939a88d22c/698a1b5cdb29874e57266bab/bermuda-and-philippines-diptych.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [olympics](/tag/olympics/) ## olympics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Bermuda and the Philippines Have Won Their First Olympic Gold Medals—Ever  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Jul 27, 2021 1:25 AM CUT  Flora Duffy of Team Bermuda with her gold medal (left) and Hidilyn Diaz of Team Philippines posing with the gold medal. Flora Duffy of Team Bermuda with her gold medal (left) and Hidilyn Diaz of Team Philippines posing with the gold medal.Flora Duffy: Stephen McCarthy—Getty Images; Hidilyn Diaz: Chris Graythen—Getty Images  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Jul 27, 2021 1:25 AM CUT It was a historic day for Bermuda at the [2020 Tokyo Olympics](https://time.com/6083505/tokyo-olympics-covid-19-countermeasures-falling-short/ "undefined"), with Flora Duffy taking home the country’s first-ever [gold medal](https://time.com/6083866/summer-olympics-medals-by-country-tokyo-2021/ "undefined") in women’s triathlon. Two-time world champion Duffy dominated in all three legs of the triathlon—swimming, cycling and running—to pull out the win, coming out on top of Great Britain’s 2020 world champion Georgia Taylor-Brown, who earned silver, and bronze medalist Katie Zaferes of Team USA. Duffy posted an impressive time of 1:55:36 despite challenging weather conditions that delayed the start of the race. Duffy’s win also marked the country’s second-ever Olympic medal. (The previous medal went to Clarence Hill in 1976). > [](https://twitter.com/BermudaPremier/status/1419806359269240833) Duffy’s momentous win came in the wake of the Philippines’ Hidilyn Diaz winning her country’s own first-ever gold in the 55-kilogram category of women’s weightlifting. Diaz also set an Olympic record in a close battle that came down to her last lift, hefting a combined weight total of 224 kilograms across two successful attempts. “I sacrificed a lot. I wasn’t able to be with my mother and father for how many months and years and then of course, training was excruciating,” Diaz said, according to the [Philippine _Daily Inquirer_](https://sports.inquirer.net/430548/hidilyn-diaz-overcomes-struggles-to-make-history-for-ph-with-gold-medal?utm%5Fmedium=Social&utm%5Fsource=Twitter#Echobox=1627313342-2 "undefined"). “But God had a plan.”  Hidilyn Diaz of Team Philippines competes during the women's weight lifting 55kg competition on day three of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo International Forum on July 26, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. Chris Graythen—Getty Images Bermuda began participating in the Olympic Games in 1936, while the Philippines first competed nearly 100 years ago in 1924. ### **Read more about the Tokyo Olympics:** * [Naomi Osaka: ‘It’s O.K. to Not Be O.K.’](https://time.com/6077128/naomi-osaka-essay-tokyo-olympics/?utm%5Fsource=roundup&campaign=olympics "undefined") * [Motherhood Could Have Cost Olympian Allyson Felix. She Wouldn’t Let It](https://time.com/6077124/allyson-felix-tokyo-olympics?utm%5Fsource=roundup&campaign=olympics "undefined") * [‘Unapologetic and Unafraid.’ Sue Bird Stares Down Olympic Glory in Tokyo and Equity Off the Court](https://time.com/6077126/sue-bird-tokyo-olympics/?utm%5Fsource=roundup&campaign=olympics "undefined") * [Meet 6 Heroes Who Helped Battle COVID-19 Before Competing in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics](https://time.com/6077122/tokyo-olympics-athletes-covid-19-frontlines/?utm%5Fsource=roundup&campaign=olympics "undefined") * [Here’s How Many Medals Every Country Has Won at the Tokyo Summer Olympics So Far](https://time.com/6083866/summer-olympics-medals-by-country-tokyo-2021/?utm%5Fsource=roundup&campaign=olympics "undefined") * [48 Athletes to Watch at the Tokyo Olympics](https://time.com/6077111/athletes-to-watch-toyko-olympics/?utm%5Fsource=roundup&campaign=olympics "undefined") * [The Olympic Refugee Team Was Created to Offer Hope. Some Athletes Are Running Away From It](https://time.com/6077132/tokyo-olympics-refugee-team?utm%5Fsource=roundup&campaign=olympics "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6084202/bermuda-philippines-gold-medal-olympics/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6084202/bermuda-philippines-gold-medal-olympics/"},"headline":"Bermuda and the Philippines Have Won Their First Olympic Gold Medals—Ever","datePublished":"2021-07-27T01:25:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:54:59.409Z","description":"Bermuda began participating in the Olympic Games in 1936, while the Philippines first competed nearly 100 years ago in 1924","url":"https://time.com/6084202/bermuda-philippines-gold-medal-olympics/","keywords":["olympics","Brief","2020 Tokyo Olympics"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8a2acf939a88d22c/698a1b5cdb29874e57266bab/bermuda-and-philippines-diptych.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8a2acf939a88d22c/698a1b5cdb29874e57266bab/bermuda-and-philippines-diptych.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"bermuda-and-philippines-diptych","caption":"Flora Duffy of Team Bermuda with her gold medal (left) and Hidilyn Diaz of Team Philippines posing with the gold medal.","creditText":"Flora Duffy: Stephen McCarthy—Getty Images; Hidilyn Diaz: Chris Graythen—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/olympics/","name":"olympics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6084202/bermuda-philippines-gold-medal-olympics/","name":"Bermuda and the Philippines Have Won Their First Olympic Gold Medals—Ever"}}]}] ```