Flora Duffy has been added to the start list for WTCS Yokohama. After uncertainty over her WTCS comeback, the defending Olympic champion will be making her first start in the Series in 18 months.
In a shift from previous false dawns in 2023, Duffy was not originally on the start lists for Yokohama. Whereas last year, for example at the Paris Test Event, Duffy entered races and then withdrew, in Yokohama she has been a later addition. Considering that she has been added to the start list less than a fortnight out from the race, she must believe she will be able to start this time around.
Her presence offers the clearest signal yet that she will be able to race at this summer’s Olympic Games. Moreover, it adds some star power to the women’s race after the withdrawals of Cassandre Beaugrand, Beth Potter and Sophie Coldwell since the start lists were first revealed.
For Duffy, Yokohama will represent her first WTCS race since November 2022. As such, there are no real clues regarding what to expect from her. Being an Olympic distance race, it will give her an ideal hit-out ahead of the Paris Olympic Games and, should she emerge unscathed, Duffy will be confident of being able to compete in Paris.
In terms of actual finishing position, though, right now guesswork is as good as it will get. Not to be forgotten is the fact that Duffy is on a three race winning streak in the Series. In 2022, she won the stops in Hamburg and Bermuda before triumphing at the WTCS Final in Abu Dhabi. Balanced against that previous form, though, is the simple fact that she has not raced for a year and a half.
Whatever happens in Yokohama, the return of the most successful female athlete in the sport will undoubtedly provide the Series (and season) a shot in the arm.
