Paris triathlon: GB quartet proud of Olympic bronze

It wasn’t the Olympic title defence the British quartet were hoping for, but after a rip-roaring mixed team relay on the streets of Paris the overwhelming emotion was one of pride.

Great Britain’s third place behind Germany and the USA in the tightest of sprint finishes extends their record as the most successful Olympic triathlon nation of all-time, with 11 medals – four gold, three silver, and now four bronzes.

“We’re immensely proud and the effort that Beth [Potter] put in on the last leg was pretty heroic,” said Paris men’s gold medallist Alex Yee, having broken clear on the opening leg before handing over to Georgia Taylor-Brown.

“It was an amazing day overall for us and I’m proud to be part of this team and proud of the legacy of the past four Games.”

Completing the set

Taylor-Brown echoed Yee’s thoughts as she put individual disappointment behind her, adding bronze to mixed team relay gold and individual silver from Tokyo to complete the set.

“I think that’s all we could have asked for and we’re super proud of each other,” added the sixth-place finisher. “We put together the best performance that we could. Beth definitely emptied herself at the end to get back on to those two [Taylor Knibb and Laura Lindemann].

As for the decision to give the go-ahead for the swim in the Seine, Taylor-Brown was confident the authorities made the right call.

“We’re definitely happy the decision was made to go ahead for all three triathlons,” she said. “A day’s delay for the boys, but we can all agree the right decision was made. World Triathlon were completely transparent throughout and delaying the men’s race showed they were putting our health and safety first.”

“It’s still a medal”

Potter, who like Yee, was twice on the podium in Paris, could celebrate a job well done, but the sprint finish with Knibb was so tight, she didn’t know which way it gone.

“I thought we might have had the silver, but it’s still a medal,” she said. “The run leg was tough, I think I was a bit tired from the bike. I got a bit detached, and then got myself back in the mix and was all-in for the last 200m.

“It’s been a great week and I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. It’s been challenging with the potential postponement of racing and water quality, but we’ve all dealt with it really well and I’m just proud to bring home two bronze medals.”

Having overseen his second successful Games in a row for British Triathlon, performance director Mike Cavendish said the team tactics were always to try to put pressure on early, and force mistakes from other teams. As New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde brought down French hope Pierre Le Corre it looked as if that plan had worked.

“We got the race that we wanted and ultimately it comes down to three brilliant athletes and was incredibly tight,” he added.

“Our view was get out early and get ahead. That’s why we went with Alex and Georgia on one and two. Stay ahead and if anybody can get back to us, may the best woman win, and that’s what happened.”

A fantastic advert for our sport

Should Potter have sat up on the bike earlier to save her legs for the run? “I don’t think so because the reality is the bike is very short, we were worried Knibb had the potential to just ride trough anyway, and if that had happened she’s potentially right off the back and exposed.  

“It’s a short enough distance so we said to all four of them just go out there and put out the best swim bike run that you can. She knew she was going to get caught, but the sooner she got caught, the more likely it was Knibb was going to attack and ride her off her wheel. It was just an unbelievable race and a fantastic advert for our sport.”