“Oh my days, it’s me!:” Alex Yee relives his incredible comeback to win Olympic gold

Olympic champion Alex Yee secured his first world triathlon title on Sunday by finishing third in World Triathlon Championship Finals. 

But let’s rewind to 31 July. In Paris, the Brit produced one of the greatest one-day performances we have ever seen at an Olympic Games to win gold. 

And we were there at the finish line to speak to tri’s new poster boy… 

The opening line of the race report read how 20 years on from New Zealand’s first and only Olympic triathlon gold medal, Hayden Wilde had put in a career-best performance to regain the title for his nation. 

Then Alex Yee comes around the corner. 

Yee’s charge, seemingly from nowhere on the final lap of the 10km run in Paris, didn’t just help him become the most decorated Olympic male triathlete of all time. It didn’t just cap a rivalry that has been building for six years. It left seasoned watchers of swim, bike, run in awe.

It will go down as one of the greatest triathlon races; Yee, still just 26, as one of the greatest triathletes. 

His medals from Paris added to the two from Tokyo, leaving his haul at two gold, a silver and a bronze, and counting.

What’s more, amid the uncertainty and frustration of the water quality and the current in the Seine, he carried himself with grace and humility as a fine ambassador for the sport.

Following the delayed individual race on Wednesday and the mixed team relay five days later, 220 Triathlon captured Yee’s thoughts about the unique experience of his second Olympic Games. 

We’ve rounded up the best bits here.

Alex Yee talks to 220

220: What was going through your mind when Hayden Wilde pulled clear in the first part of the run?

Alex Yee: I was certainly riding a bad patch. Through 2-6km I was in second place, with the guys behind closing quite rapidly behind. I said to myself with 3km to go that I wanted to give it one more chance. 

I owed it to myself, to so many who came to watch, and who waited after the postponement.

“A moment of belief”

220: Amid the crowd noise, we understand you were able to pick out the encouraging voice of Alistair Brownlee?

AY: With one lap to go, Alistair said: ‘Anything can still happen, mate.’ It’s special to look back at that now. 

A moment of belief, and I was in the mindset that I wanted to give myself that last chance.

220: But did you still believe you could win at that point?

AY: I don’t know. I just wanted to cross that finish line knowing that I’d given 100%. I thought that if I give 100% and he [Wilde] comes back around me I have to be at peace with that. 

It’s all a bit of a blur. I didn’t know I’d catch him until I caught him. A bit of disbelief that I was the first person across the finish line. 

It all happened so fast, I wish I could go back and do it again, but I just got to the finish line and was like: ‘Oh my days, it’s me!’

An all-round performance

220: The run will get the focus, but how comfortable did you feel through the race?

AY: I was able to swim remarkably well, ride at the front, and run as well. Triathlon racing has always been about racing three events not just one and I was proud to be an animator in the race and put on a show.

220: Was this redemption for missing out on gold in Tokyo to Kristian Blummenfelt?

AY: It wasn’t so much thinking about Tokyo, it was just the investment I’ve put in and other people have put in me. 

The one goal I stood on the startline with – having taken as much pressure as I could off myself – was to give 100% and leave no stone unturned.

Yee on the Wilde rivalry

220: Is this just the latest chapter in the rivalry between yourself and Hayden?

AY: The level of our running at the moment is unfathomable. 

To be pushed by Hayden and to have these battles is something I’ll relish forever – as much as winning a gold medal. 

We work hard day in, day out to be the best athletes we can be, and when there is that one person who pushes you to those new limits… I have so much appreciation for him as a person. 

From our first Super League races, we’ve shared rooms together and been mates. He’s a top mate as well as a top racer.

A photo finish

220: The mixed team relay came down to the wire with GB initially being awarded silver. What are your thoughts on the photo finish?

AY: ‘I reckon we got you!’ [Yee joked to the US team in the press conference]. 

There was an initial bit of confusion. I guess they hadn’t fully seen the photo finish yet. 

Of course, we’re biased, we’d have loved a silver medal. But we’re immensely proud of getting that bronze and the efforts Beth [Potter] put in on that fourth leg were heroic, so it was an amazing day overall for us.

It was really close and that was testament to how amazing the event was on the day. The sport has won today and what an amazing day for the mixed relay.

Postponement and water quality

220: How much did the uncertainty over the races taking place disrupt your preparations?

AY: We have to roll with the punches. It’s part of being an athlete at this level. 

You’ve got to understand that sport isn’t going to be as straightforward. 

We’re lucky enough to be in this amazing venue and one of the risks of being in the best venue of the Olympics was the water quality.

220: What are your thoughts about the decision to base the races in the city centre and swim in the Seine?

AY: Fundamentally, we need clean water to do our competition. That is super important. 

The French government has been proactive in trying to provide us with a clean area of water where we can swim. And we’ve had two days where we’ve been able to swim and they can be immensely proud of that.

We have a choice. We can be like, we’re not going to race and automatically take ourselves out of the competition. 

Or we can be professional, listen to the advice, take precautions and trust the information we’ve been given.

A changed man?

220: Will the success in Paris change anything for you personally?

AY: I’m still the same bloke. I’m just enjoying my sport.

The most rewarding thing for me is that hopefully we’ve inspired a new generation to take up our sport and fall in love with the Olympics like we all did when we were younger.

We’ve come out here as Team GB and left with three Olympic medals.

I couldn’t be prouder of these guys, and BTF [British Triathlon Federation] and all the guys who worked hard behind us.

The legacy of Paris 2024

220: Has triathlon helped in creating the right Olympic legacy, do you think?

AY: Looking at the crowds and a lot of smiling faces, we’ve put on a hell of a spectacle. Good for the sport  and the Olympics.

The French government is trying to clean up the Seine so people can use it afterwards. 

So don’t stop now! Keep going and make sure it’s clean. 

I think that’s the important thing to leave behind. I’m not sure how they’re going to stop that current! 

That’s going to be an exciting challenge, but we want people who watched to give the sport a go

Yee v Wilde: a rivalry for the ages 

Paris Olympics 2024: 

1st Yee; 2nd Wilde

A surging Yee overtakes a fast-fading Wilde in the final 500m as the Brit wins a thrilling first individual Olympic gold. 

Cagliari WTCS 2024: 

1st Yee; 2nd Wilde

The duo run shoulder-to-shoulder on the quickest course on the circuit before Yee takes victory, mirroring the result in Sardinia 12 months earlier.

Hamburg WTCS 2023: 

1st Wilde; 3rd Yee

The Kiwi shows a liking for the quickfire eliminator format in Germany to beat Yee  into third in the final. For once they’re separated on the podium, this time by Portugal’s Vasco Vilaca.

Birmingham Commonwealth Games, 2022: 

1st Yee; 2nd Wilde

A controversial penalty in T2 means Wilde has to serve a 10sec penalty on the final corner, robbing fans of a sprint finish over the sprint distance.

Singapore Arena Games, 2022: 

1st Wilde; 2nd Yee

The pair show that talent rises to the top no matter what format as Wilde comes out on top in the e-sports race following a turbo trainer bike leg and treadmill run.

London Super League Triathlon, 2021: 

1st Wilde; 5th Yee

It isn’t the celebratory Olympic homecoming an apologetic Yee has planned in the Docklands after defeat in the Triple Mix format. But Wilde is at his powerhouse best.

Tokyo Olympics 2021: 

2nd Yee; 3rd Wilde

As the race whittles down from a large pack, Yee eases clear of Wilde in the final, but neither man is a match for Norway’s Blummenfelt.

Alex Yee’s Paris Olympic triathlon splits

Individual 

1.5km swim: 20:37mins

40km bike: 51:57mins

10km run: 28:47mins

Overall: 1:43:33

Mixed team relay

300m swim: 4:13mins

7km bike: 9:36mins

1.8km run: 4:44mins

The 10 most decorated Olympic triathletes

4

Alex Yee, GBR gold x2, silver, bronze

3

Georgia Taylor-Brown, GBR gold, silver, bronze

Jonny Brownlee, GBR gold, silver, bronze

2

Alistair Brownlee, GBR gold x2

Simon Whitfield, CAN gold, silver

Nicola Spirig, SUI gold, silver 

Taylor Knibb, USA silver x2 

Morgan Pearson, USA silver x2

Bevan Docherty, NZ silver, bronze

Beth Potter GBR bronze x2