Great Britain’s Alex Yee produced a display for the ages as he ran down long-time leader and arch rival Hayden Wilde in truly dramatic fashion to win Olympic men’s triathlon gold in Paris.
The 26-year-old burst onto the scene three years ago with an individual silver behind Kristian Blummenfelt at the Tokyo Olympics.
But this time he went one better thanks to a quite remarkable display – he looked to be hanging on for second, let alone challenging for first, inside the final kilometre.
But up front Wilde’s legs appeared to go just as Yee found incredible extra reserves and the race was utterly transformed in a matter of strides.
Yee surged past and crossed the line six seconds clear of a shellshocked Wilde, with Leo Bergere winning an all-French battle with Pierre Le Corre for the bronze.
Yee follows in the footsteps of the legendary Alistair Brownlee, who he watched win Olympic gold at London 2012 before defending the title in Rio.
Swim – Mixed starts for big guns
There was a sporting handshake between Yee and Wilde before diving in from the the floating Alexandre III pontoon in what were hot and humid conditions.
After Tuesday’s postponement, the race was only given the go ahead at 4am local time, when the water quality was deemed safe to allow the athletes to swim in the River Seine. It had gone down to the wire but thankfully the improved weather saw the levels drop into an acceptable range.
And the men now had the unexpected benefit of having been able to watch the women’s race unfold (which was won by French star Cassandre Beaugrand) – where the strong currents helped split things up on the swim.
There were still some losers at the first buoy on the opening 910-metre loop, which saw Aussie Matt Hauser exit the water first. But only 20 seconds separated the first 15 – and in that ‘group’ was pre-race favourite Yee, who had a brilliant opening to sit just 13 seconds off the pace whereas big rival Wilde was at +42.
Reigning champion Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) was another with ground to make up too at +37.
On the second, shorter lap it was Alessio Crociani (ITA) who moved to the front and when they exited the water for the second and final time he was three seconds clear of fellow strong swimmer Henri Schoeman (RSA), with Hauser on their tail.
And the French fans, fresh from Beaugrand’s brilliant victory in the women’s race, had more to cheer as both Dorian Coninx and Le Corre were in the top 10.
Yee had dropped back a little but was well in touch at 27 seconds back and in far better shape than Blummenfelt (+50s) and Wilde (+1:03), though surely that duo would join forces on the bike to bring back the group. Of the others fancied for the medals, Morgan Pearson (USA) at +1:20 had a little more to make up.
Bike – all back together but Pearson misses out
In stark contrast to the chaos on the bike in the women’s race, the roads had now been transformed from slippery to completely dry by the warm temperatures. And initially we had a group of six up front – the first three from the swim plus French duo Coninx and Le Corre and Alberto Gonzalez Garcia (SPA).
But it didn’t take long for the chase group, with the likes of Yee and Marten van Riel (BEL) driving it, to close the gap. So much so that by the end of the first of seven 5.7km laps they had joined together, swelling the numbers to 19.
As expected though, Wilde, Blummenfelt and co were doing everything they could to bridge up as well and for the next couple of laps the difference between them hovered around the 20-seconds mark.
That second group also contained the second British athlete in Sam Dickinson, while Dylan McCullough (NZL) eased out of the leading 19 – potentially poised to help Kiwi teammate Wilde make the catch.
And that was exactly what transpired – at the end of lap four there was barely anything between the two groups and it was all together soon after with a pack of 32 riders.
It was probably no surprise given both the humid conditions and the rapidly-rising temperatures (remember this race was originally scheduled to start at 8am local time rather than 10.45am) that things went into a holding pattern for the final three laps of the bike.
Thankfully there were also none of the crashes which had blighted the women’s race, which took place in markedly different conditions.
Blummenfelt, set to switch sports to cycling in 2025, kept the power up at the front but realistically it was unlikely anyone would be able to break clear and they were still together coming into T2 with it all to play for on the run. Pearson, even with his foot speed, appeared to be the only medal hope completely out of contention.
Run – What a finish!
With 32 riders coming into T2 at the same time it was always likely to be a little sketchy and Hauser’s chances took a bit of a dent when he took a spill.
But there was a punchy start to the run as Yee looked to stamp his authority on the race by gliding clear early on as selfless team-mate Dickinson dropped out with his work done and an eye on Monday’s Mixed Team Relay.
Only one man was able to respond and it was no surprise that was Wilde – the much anticipated duel was already on with over three laps remaining. When they crossed the line after 2.5km they were locked together – and already had a 13-second buffer over French duo Bergere and Le Corre.
However things suddenly took another dramatic turn as it was Wilde who now kicked clear – and Yee seemingly had no answer. Three seconds quickly became nine, then 11 and at the 5km mark it was up to 15 seconds. The contrast between them was marked too – Wilde looked smooth and comfortable but Yee, normally the most graceful of runners, appeared to be struggling.
He dug deep on lap three to stop the time losses – there were 14 seconds between them at the bell – and in behind Bergere and Le Corre were shoulder to shoulder, 16 seconds behind Yee.
Wilde looked unstoppable up front and destined for a famous win but then came that dramatic sprint finish from Yee which will forever be part of triathlon history.
It was an incredible transformation, and one which puts Yee right up there with the sport’s greats.
Men’s Olympic triathlon results:
Paris, Wednesday July 31, 2024 – Olympic Distance
- 1. Alex Yee (GBR) – 1:43:33 (Swim: 20:37, Bike: 51:57, Run: 29:47)
- 2. Hayden Wilde (NZL) – 1:43:39 (Swim: 21:13, Bike: 51:20, Run: 29:49)
- 3. Leo Bergere (FRA) – 1:43:43 (Swim: 20:37, Bike: 51:55, Run: 29:55)
- 4. Pierre Le Corre (FRA) – 1:43:51 (Swim: 20:20, Bike: 52:14, Run: 30:01)
- 5. Vasco Vilaca (POR) – 1:43:56 (Swim: 21:03, Bike: 51:30, Run: 30:04)
- 6. Ricardo Batista (FRA) – 1:43:58 (Swim: 21:10, Bike: 51:29, Run: 30:06)
- 7. Matthew Hauser (AUS) – 1:44:17 (Swim: 20:14, Bike: 52:26, Run: 30:24)
- 8. Alberto Gonzalez Garcia (SPA) – 1:44:22 (Swim: 20:23, Bike: 52:15, Run: 30:36)
- 9. Tyler Mislawchuk (CAN) – 1:44:25 (Swim: 20:49, Bike: 51:45, Run: 30:35)
- 10. Miguel Hidalgo (BRA) – 1:44:27 (Swim: 20:57, Bike: 51:36, Run: 30:36)
You can click here for full finishing order and times for all of the 55 triathletes racing in Paris.
