Tokyo 2020: triathlon silver for Alex Yee

It was silver for Team GB in the men’s triathlon, with Alex Yee putting in an impressive performance in gruelling conditions and after the drama of a false start.

Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt took the gold, with Hayden Wilde of New Zealand in bronze position.

The race started early in the day to avoid the worst of the hot and humid weather, but then there were issues in the swimming event as a boat blocked off half of the competitors.

After the swim, the French double-world champion Vincent Luis led the way. There was a nine-strong group setting the pace of the bike, with Yee heading the chasers about 30 seconds down. But by the fourth lap of the 40km, the lead group and the chasers were together, meaning medals would be decided on the 10kn run.

On the third lap, Blummenfelt made his move and pulled away, with only Yee and Wilde able to hang close. With a kilometre to go, the Norweigan moved further away, and Yee held on for silver.

After the event, Yee described his silver medal as a “dream fulfilled”.

He said: “It hasn’t really sunk in quite yet, it doesn’t feel real like it’s me yet. I still feel like a normal boy from south east London. I hope I can serve as inspiration to people to show this is possible. I’m not anything special, I just really enjoy sport and have been really lucky.

“I think I probably timed it a bit wrong and left it a bit late to close the gap to Kristian. Once I got halfway across it, I think I was pretty cooked and I started to feel the heat. I had a good heat strategy and felt comfortable up to that point, but Kristian was the man on the day.

“I was on the start line with the clarity that I’d done everything I physically could have to get to that line in the best possible shape. I’ve had the best possible preparation I could have, I know a lot of people haven’t, so I’m really lucky in that sense. Second was the best possible result for me on the day.

“For me, I’ve learnt that I don’t want to be a passive racer. That’s not the person I want to be, I want to take the race to people. I don’t want circumstances and luck to force my hand, I want to do it myself. If that meant I wasn’t a good enough runner on the day, that’s what it is. I wouldn’t change anything and I get a bit more respect that way.”

Yee has a chance to add to his silver when he competes in the mixed relay, a new event that will see him and Jonny Brownlee team up with two of Vicky Holland, Jess Learmonth and Georgia Taylor-Brown.