Yee wins Olympic men’s triathlon gold in dramatic comeback
Great Britain’s Alex Yee won a stunning and spectacular gold medal in the triathlon, finally allowing the men to participate in one of the most anticipated and controversial events of the Paris Olympics.
The 26-year-old skater improved from the silver he won in Tokyo three years ago to gold after beating New Zealander Hayden Wilde in a barely credible comeback to close the three-discipline competition.
He is only the second British man to take home individual triathlon gold, after Alistair Brownlee did so at back-to-back Games in London and Rio de Janeiro. Yee joined Alistair’s brother Jonny, Jessica Learmonth and Georgia Taylor-Brown in winning gold in the sport’s first mixed team relay event in Tokyo.
Frenchman Leo Bergere ensured that the home team won double medals in several events, after compatriot Cassandre Beaugrand had already won gold in the women’s event, after Wilde took bronze.
Un-believable!!
Alex Yee, Olympic Triathlon Champion! #Paris2024 photo.twitter.com/RWwszDke2N
— Team GB (@TeamGB) July 31, 2024
The run-up to Wednesday’s race has been the story of the start of the Paris Games, with planned introductory swim practices cancelled not once but twice before the main event, scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed by a day.
The tests conducted early on Wednesday morning finally gave the green light and there was much excitement when the male athletes finally entered the water at 10:45 local time on Wednesday, shortly after Beaugrand had taken home a fairytale gold.
The Seine swim is a real challenge, even without the water conditions. The swirling currents add an extra dose of fatigue to what is already one of the toughest Olympic trials.
Italy’s Alessio Crociani was first off the start after completing the energy-sapping 1.5km section at the top of the field before embarking on the six-lap 40km bike race.
A picturesque course featuring some of the city’s most famous landmarks, including the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysees, saw a group of 19 men grow to 32 by the second transition zone, with Germany’s Jonas Schomburg the first to cross the finish line, before Yee made his first push for home.
Yee overtook Wilde in the closing stages of the race (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
He was soon joined by great rival Wilde, who had closed the gap to 2021 champion Kristian Blummenfelt on his bike over the chasing group. The battle for gold quickly degenerated into a two-man battle for the top step of the podium.
Wilde seemed to have other ideas and came away with a decisive push on the second lap of the 10km run. Yee had no initial answer and fell as far as 15 seconds behind as the Kiwi went on to gold.
But in one of the most dramatic closing stages of these Games so far, Yee came roaring back, passing Wilde at the entrance to the Pont Alexandre III with just a few metres to go, before braking almost to a run and collecting Olympic glory.
“I have so much respect for Hayden and how he made me dig in there,” Yee said. “He was an amazing athlete and for me, almost two rounds in, I thought silver was on the cards, but I owed it to myself to give myself one last chance.
“With about 2km to go I thought I was going to give it everything I had and I’m just so proud that I was able to do that for my family, for everyone who worked hard, for my girlfriend Liv — there’s so many more people than just me who worked on this. This was our dream and I’m the lucky one who gets to make it happen, so thank you to them.
“I was giving it everything I had and I was in a really bad patch. A lot of people have told me that you go through a bad patch during a race, no matter how perfect or bad it is, so I guess I just rode that wave and said, let’s try one more time and see if we can do it.”
(Top photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images))
