Alex Yee of Great Britain won a brilliant and dramatic gold medal in the triathlon as the men finally got to compete in one of the most anticipated and controversial races at the Paris Olympic Games.
The 26-year-old upgraded the silver he won in Tokyo three years ago to gold after surging clear of New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde with a scarcely believable comeback in the run to close out the three-discipline competition.
He becomes only the second British man to bring home individual triathlon gold after Alistair Brownlee did so in back-to-back Games in London and Rio de Janeiro. Yee, alongside Alistair’s brother Jonny, Jessica Learmonth and Georgia Taylor-Brown, won gold in the sport’s first mixed team relay event in Tokyo.
France’s Leo Bergere made it a multi-event medal double for the hosts, after compatriot Cassandre Beaugrand had earlier taken gold in the women’s event, following Wilde home for bronze.
Unbe-YEE-vable!!
Alex Yee, Olympic triathlon champion! #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/RWwszDke2N
— Team GB (@TeamGB) July 31, 2024
The buildup to Wednesday’s race had been the story of the early part of these Paris Games with the planned familiarisation training swims cancelled not once but twice before the main event, scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed by a day.
Tests performed in the early hours of Wednesday morning finally gave the green light meaning there was plenty of anticipation as the male athletes finally descended into the water at 10.45am local time on Wednesday, following shortly after Beaugrand had brought home a fairy tale home gold.
The Seine swim leg presents a brutal challenge even before the water conditions are taken into account with the whirling currents adding an extra layer of fatigue to what is already one of the most physical of Olympic tests.
Italy’s Alessio Crociani was first out after navigating the energy-sapping 1.5km section the best of the field before embarking on the six-lap, 40km bike.
A picturesque course that took in some of the most famous of the city’s landmarks including the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysees saw a 19-man group swell to a mass of 32 into the second transition with Germany’s Jonas Schomburg the first to emerge before Yee made his first kick 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 alongside 2021 champion Kristian Blummenfelt on the bike from the chasing pack, with the battle for gold soon becoming a two-man race for the top step of the podium.
Wilde appeared to have other ideas and surged clear with a decisive push on the second lap of the 10km run. Yee had no initial answer falling as far as 15 seconds behind as the Kiwi kicked on for gold.
But in one of the most dramatic finishes of these Games so far, Yee roared back, passing Wilde on the entry to the Pont Alexandre III with only metres remaining before slowing to an almost walk to take the tape and Olympic glory.
“I have so much respect for Hayden and how much he made me dig there,” Yee said. “He was an amazing athlete and for me, almost two laps in I thought that 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’d give it everything I had and I’m just so proud that I was able to do that for my family, for everyone that’s worked hard, for my girlfriend Liv — there’s so many more people than just me who have worked towards this. This was our dream and I’m the lucky one who gets to do it, so thank you to them.
“I gave it everything I had and I was going through a really bad patch. Many people have told me that you’re gonna go through a bad patch during a race no matter how perfect or bad it is, so I think for me I just rode that wave and said one more try and let’s see if we can do it.”
(Top photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images))