Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Team GB's Alex Yee claims dramatic gold medal in triathlon after stunning late sprint finish
Updated 31/07/2024 at 13:21 GMT+1
Great Britain’s Alex Yee won gold at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris after a frantic last-gasp comeback over New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde. Wilde led Yee for the majority of the 10km race, but Yee powered past him to become the Olympic champion as Frenchman Leo Bergere took bronze. Yee now has three Olympic medals, the same number as legendary British triathlete Jonathan Brownlee.
‘I didn’t give up’ – Yee says he emerged from ‘quite a bad place’ to win gold
Video credit: TNT Sports
Alex Yee ended his wait for triathlon gold with a battling victory in the men's race at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
It looked as though New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde was going to scoop the Olympic title when he built a 15-second lead over Yee heading into the final stages.
But the 26-year-old Brit showed sheer grit and determination to surge past Wilde with just a few hundred yards to go, as he crossed the line in a time of 1:43:33 – six seconds clear of Wilde.
The New Zealand athlete had enough in the tank to secure the silver medal, while Frenchman Leo Bergere finished four seconds behind to take bronze in his home Games.
"Two laps in I thought silver was on the cards, but I owed it to myself to give myself one last chance and with about two kilometres to go I thought I’d just give it everything I had," Yee told Eurosport after the race.
"I’m just so proud I was able to do that for my family, for everyone who has worked hard. There are so many more people than just me who have worked towards this and this is our dream, I’m the lucky one who gets to do it."
Yee looked to be struggling towards the end of the race when it looked as though Wilde was going to storm to victory, until the resurgent Brit pulled it back to clinch the win.
“I was in quite a bad place to be fair,” Yee admitted. “I really wanted to give a swim, bike and run. Maybe I did a bit too much swimming and biking today.
“That meant that the run was really hard. I gave it everything I had and was going through a real bad patch.
"Many people have told me I’ll go through a bad patch in a race, no matter how perfect or bad it is.
“I rode that wave and just said ‘one more try, let’s see if we can do it’ and I didn’t give up.”
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Yee's GB team-mate Samuel Dickinson played a vital role in the eventual winner's victory, as he led the pack during the cycling leg and prevented anyone else from breaking away.
He then assisted Yee into the running leg and let him move into the lead, before Dickinson eventually dropped back and consequently pulled out of the race.
"We lived together for two, three years," Yee said when asked about the role Dickinson played for him. "We've worked hard together day in, day out. This guy has got me out of bed many times.
"I'm so proud of him, we're going to share a relay team together and we're going to give it hell for each other. We're going to do our best to make this guy's dream come true."
Following controversial circumstances which saw the event delayed by a day due to poor water quality in the river Seine, the men’s race was eventually able to get underway on Wednesday following the women’s discipline which was won by Cassandre Beaugrand.
Britain’s Yee delivered a relatively efficient opening swim and was 18th by the time the group reached the ramp in preparation for the 40-kilometre cycle.
Italian Alessio Crociani had the lead, with Henri Schoeman of South Africa and home athlete Pierre Le Corre closely following.
The road conditions were much improved compared to the women’s race, where riders were slipping and sliding all over the treacherous track following heavy rainfall in the early hours.
The front three of Crociani, Schoeman and Matthew Hauser exchanged positions in the early stages of the bike ride and were rejoined by Le Corre while France’s Dorian Coninx and Alberto Gonzalez Garcia of Spain also joined the leaders at the 30-minute mark.
Around 10 seconds separated the six leaders and the first chase group, with Team GB’s Yee up to 12th while Dickinson had slipped to 32nd – 37 seconds adrift and with work to do.
The lead group quickly became a tight 19-strong field with the lead consistently switching between the riders, with Yee firmly involved right at the front.
The chasers – including Dickinson – were around 27 seconds behind but constantly closing the deficit on the front pack, which they reduced to 19 seconds as the riders approached the halfway mark.
Their progress continued as they caught up with the top 18 – who were separated by just four seconds – as they began the fourth lap as a 32-lead group.
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Watch as Potter adds to Team GB’s medal haul with bronze in energy-sapping triathlon
Video credit: TNT Sports
Part of that chasing pack was Dickinson, who was now right at the front as he looked to work tactically with Yee to assist the latter in his search for a third Olympic medal.
Dickinson led the group alongside reigning champion Kristian Blummenfelt as a gap began to open up between the pair and the rest of the peloton heading for the final lap of the cycling leg, but they were quickly pegged back as Blummenfelt defended the advantage.
But Dickinson continued to put in a hard-fought shift and held up the peloton and made it hard for anyone to break away as Yee continued to battle from the inside, waiting for his moment.
Germany’s Schoeman led the pack into the 10km running race with Dickinson and Yee closely following him. Yee swiftly took the lead, assisted by Dickinson, who gave an encouraging gesture towards his team-mate as he dropped back down the order before ultimately pulling out of the race.
Yee and Wilde powered on and built a large gap between themselves and the chasers, each fluttering between the gold and silver medal positions.
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Alex Yee, Hayden Wilde
Image credit: Getty Images
Wilde looked in a better condition and edged ahead of Yee, before he strategically began to stretch his advantage over the Briton which was up to 15 seconds by the halfway point.
Yee was still comfortably in second, but there was certainly a threat from the chasing group.
However, the 26-year-old improved his lead on French duo of Bergere and Le Corre, while he began to close the gap on Wilde’s advantage.
In a stunning finish, Yee continued to chase Wilde before sprinting into the lead and crossing the line for his maiden Olympic gold medal.
Yee has now matched British triathlete legend Jonathan Brownlee – who has won a gold, a silver and a bronze – for Olympic medals.
As for Yee, the London-born star now has two gold medals and a silver. He won gold in the mixed relay discipline at Tokyo 2020 and silver in the individual triathlon.
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