Born and raised in Bermuda, Flora Duffy was about 8 years old when she participated in her first triathlon, and the rest is history. She has since been making her mark around the world, including on Maui.

Duffy became the first elite to win the Xterra World Championship off-road triathlon title five times in 2019. Two years later, she brought back Bermuda’s first Olympic gold medal from the Summer Olympics in Tokyo last July.

“It’s really great to be back on Maui to race this weekend at the Xterra World Championships. I always really enjoy coming to the island, not just racing the race, but also just hanging out on Maui and exploring the beaches,” said Duffy on Tuesday. “So, to miss it last year because of COVID was really sad, but I’m just happy that we can all be here this year and race.”

The world’s best professional and amateur runners and triathletes return to Kapalua this weekend, beginning on Saturday morning with the 3.3K, 5K and 10K trail runs followed by the Xterra Trail Running World Championship 21K, which was moved from Oahu to Maui this year.

The Xterra World Championship triathlon starts at 8 a.m. on Sunday, beginning with a 1-mile open-ocean swim from D.T. Fleming Beach by the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua. From there, triathletes embark on a 20-mile mountain bike ride followed by a 6.5-mile trail run.

The finishing chute is just a few strides after a tough stretch of beach.

This is the event’s 25th year on the Valley Isle, the birth place of the off-road triathlon.

“We are so thrilled to be back with the Xterra family,” communications director Trey Garman said Tuesday via phone. “It’s great to be back doing what we love– enjoying the healthy, active, outdoors lifestyle, getting out in nature, and getting to come here to Maui.”

Though it hasn’t been easy, Garman said that event organizers are excited to host the event and “give the athletes an opportunity to compete again” after it was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic.

This year will look a little bit different, however. All runners and spectators are required to show proof of vaccination or a negative test result taken within 72 hours of race and packet pickup to compete or be in the arena.

Masks must be worn at all times unless competing.

The overall 2021 entries list is also slightly smaller, but is still yielding a highly competitive field of triathletes.

The men’s field will be missing the reigning world champion Bradley Weiss of South Africa — countries in Africa were cut off from travel on Monday due to concerns over the omicron variant.

COVID-19 protocols in New Zealand also prevented pro triathlete Sam Osborne from competing on Maui– he was the first to win Xterra Rotorua four consecutive times.

“Obviously (Weiss) is pretty heartbroken about it because there’s nothing anybody can do, it’s out of everyone’s control,” Garman said. “Two key guys that aren’t going to make it, but aside from that, the start list is stacked. There’s just a ton of really, really great racers here.”

The race includes many past winners who are all fighting for the title again, like two-time champion Ruben Ruzafa from Spain (2013, 2014), Josiah Middaugh from the U.S. (2015), Mauricio Mendez from Mexico (2016), and Rom Akerson of Costa Rica (2018).

In addition to reigning champion Duffy, the field of female competitors includes the ITU Cross Tri World champion Loanne Duvoisin of Switzerland; 2019 ITU Cross Tri World title winner Eleonora Peroncini of Italy; former Xterra Worlds runner-up Michelle Flipo of Mexico; and Suzie Snyder, who has been the top American woman on Maui four straight times.

Duffy, who hasn’t done an off-road triathlon since 2019, said winning a sixth time on Maui would be a great way to finish the series of triathlon races held worldwide, but “I’m just going to give it my best and race my race and see what happens.”

“It might be a little shock to the system and given the weather and what the course could potentially be like, it’ll be a real challenge,” she said. “So I think just staying focused and ultimately just enjoying the experience of racing the Xterra again.”

Forecasts are showing that it could be a rainy weekend for the trail runners and triathletes, but the unpredictability on an already challenging course is what the Xterra is all about.

“I think it’s going to be a tough, choppy swim,” Duffy said with a little laugh. “The mountain bike is probably going to be horrible because it’s going to be very muddy, and with the run, so I’m looking forward to that home stretch, probably finishing with a good race, ending my season, and then going on a holiday.”

* Dakota Grossman is at dgrossman@mauinews.com