Duffy was the best placed Caribbean athlete in fifth.
Ben Lumley/World Triathlon
Bermuda’s Dame Flora Duffy and Erica Hawley fought gallantly in the women's individual triathlon but could only manage fifth and 41st, respectively, on the Pont Alexandre III on Wednesday.
Duffy, who topped the event at the Tokyo 2020 Games, failed to defend her crown but delivered an outstanding performance nonetheless. She stopped the clock in 1:56:12 for fifth, as Frenchwoman Cassandre Beaugrand won gold in 1:54:55.
Duffy, 36, demonstrated her prowess in the swim section, leading the group while skilfully navigating the currents. She was the first to switch to the bike, keeping a steady lead until the 40.0km mark, when she dropped to fifth. Despite her efforts during the run section, Duffy, who boasts the historic feat of being Bermuda's first Olympic champion, couldn't improve her position.
Hawley, in her first senior Olympics, also delivered a commendable performance. She slipped to 41st at the end in 2:02:55 after initially being up with the top 30 competitors at the swim segment.
However, the 26-year-old didn't have the most efficient execution in the bike segment and eventually fell further behind the pack.
Meanwhile, Caribbean men Matthew Wright of Barbados and another Bermudan, Tyler Smith, performed exceptionally in the men's event but also found the going tough as they finished 34th and 48th, respectively.
Wright, 32, making his Olympic debut, had ambitions of a possible top-20 finish but left it too late at the finish as he progressed from 42nd at the start to 34th. He completed the gruelling three-discipline event in 1:49:18.
Smith, 25, also a first-time Olympian, was up with the top 30 early, but lacked the endurance at the end as he finished 48th in 1:51:59.
Great Britain's Alex Yee won gold in 1:43:33.
Canada advance to Olympic quarter-finals despite points deduction
Canada advanced to the knockout stages of the Paris Olympics against all the odds following a 1-0 victory over Colombia in Marseille.
The defending Olympic champions had won both their group matches, but were docked six points after being found guilty of using a drone to spy on New Zealand's training session ahead of their opening match of the Games.
It subsequently saw head coach Bev Priestman banned from football-related activities for a year, and despite appealing the decision, saw it rejected.
However, Vanessa Gilles' header proved to be the difference as she rose highest to meet Jessie Fleming's corner kick delivery in the 61st minute.
While Canada only took three points from their group games, they joined both Spain and the United States as the only teams to win all their games at the tournament so far.
Colombia, who started the day's action in second, settled for third spot but advanced to the knockout stages as one of the best third-placed teams and will face Spain.
Canada, meanwhile, will continue their quest for a second Olympic triumph in the Parc des Princes on Saturday where they will face Germany.
In the other Group A fixture, hosts France confirmed their place in the knockout stages of the competition after a hard fought 2-1 triumph over New Zealand.
Marie-Antoinette Katoto scored the opening goal of the game in the 22nd minute, only for Kate Taylor to respond for the visitors two minutes before the interval.
Katoto, who scored a brace against Colombia in their opening group game, notched her second double of the tournament late on to take her tally to five at the Games and secure top spot for the French.
France will next be in action this Saturday in Nantes, where they will face Brazil, who will be without veteran striker Marta following her red card against Spain earlier in the day.
Gauff endures doubles disappointment at Paris Olympics
Coco Gauff suffered back-to-back defeats in her respective doubles matches as her hopes of an Olympic gold medal were dashed at Roland-Garros.
In her first game of the day, Gauff teamed up with world number six Jessica Pegula to face Czech Republic duo Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova.
After taking the first set, Gauff and Pegula were unable to continue their momentum, falling to a 6-2 4-6 5-10 defeat.
The American pairing started strongly and raced into an early lead, taking the opening set in what seemingly looked like a straightforward victory for Team USA.
However, Muchova and Noskova rallied and in a second set that saw five break points converted by both, the Czech's would prevail to take the game to a decider.
Gauff and Pegula lost four straight games to put their opponents in the ascendency, with Muchova and Noskova able to see out the win to progress to the quarter-finals.
Gauff emerged back onto the clay courts in the French capital for her mixed-doubles match soon after, joining Taylor Fritz to face a Canadian pairing of Felix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriela Dabrowski.
The American duo would come from a set down to take the game to a decider, but it would be their opponents who emerge 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 8-10 victors.
Gauff and Fritz exchanged blows with the Canadians, but were edged out in a first set tie-break after losing four games on the spin.
But not wanting to let their dreams of a medal die, the American pair would recover from losing an early break point to rally and earn one of their own in the eighth game, seeing out the win to take Gauff to her second third-set decider of the day.
However, the same result would transpire, with Auger-Aliassime and Dabrowski edging a nail-biting conclusion to book their place in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Hayes maintains unbeaten Olympics start as United States top Group B
Emma Hayes' unbeaten record as the United States head coach continued as her side remained perfect following their 2-1 win over Australia in Group B.
Hayes, who took charge of the USWNT in May, has won six of her seven games at the helm, conceding just twice in that time.
The USA, along with Spain, are the only two sides to win all of their games at the Paris Olympics so far and will have great confidence heading into the knockout stages.
Trinity Rodman's second goal of the tournament two minutes from half-time sent them on their way, as Korbin Albert's 77th-minute strike saw her become the the youngest substitute scorer for the USA at the Olympics since Mallory Swanson against Colombia in 2016.
Alanna Kennedy's late strike would take some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display, but the United States dominated from the first whistle.
Hayes' side accumulated an expected goals (xG) of 2.82 from the 21 shots they had compared to Australia's 0.46, ending the match with 71.7% possession.
The United States will face Japan in the quarter-finals of the tournament, while Australia face a nervous wait to see if they qualify as one of the best third-placed teams.
In the other Group B encounter, Germany confirmed their place in the knockout stages alongside the United States following a comfortable 4-1 win over Zambia.
Lea Schuller opened the scoring in the 10th minute, with Klara Buhl adding the Germans second of the afternoon shortly after the restart.
Zambia captain Barbra Banda threatened to make the encounter a more difficult affair with her fourth goal of the tournament two minutes later.
But Schuller and Elisa Senß would add further gloss to the performance soon after to secure second place in the group.
Germany's triumph sets up a meeting with the runners-up of Group A, which could be either one of Colombia, France, Canada or New Zealand.
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