PARIS: Alex Yee might have been the fastest runner in the field at the Olympic men’s triathlon but he knew “you can’t beat the heat” and his considered pacing paid maximum dividends when he reeled in Hayden Wilde in an extraordinary finish on Wednesday (Jul 31).
The two athletes know each other inside out and won silver (Yee) and bronze (Wilde) in Tokyo, so the New Zealander took something of a punt in trying to go hard early and break his British friend and rival’s resolve.
With only around 500 metres of the 10km course to go it looked to be a masterstroke but then, as with untold athletes before him, the sub-30-minute 10km pace in boiling, humid conditions extracted its leaden-legged price and Wilde effectively hit the wall.
Moments earlier Yee had been anxiously glancing over his shoulder to see if the chasers were putting his silver in doubt, but the racer in him then sensed Wilde’s struggles and he summoned one final effort.
Incredibly, from 15 seconds behind, he roared into a 10-second lead, all in the space of about 150 metres, and was away and clear as he claimed a third British gold in the event after the two won by Alistair Brownlee in 2012 and 2016.
“At 5km I was going through a really bad patch but with 2.5km to go I started to find my legs and thought ‘I’m going to give myself one last chance at this and not give up’, and here we are,” Yee said after winning his country’s record-extending 10th medal in the sport.
Even if his in-built pacer was working sub-consciously, Yee, who won gold in the mixed relay three years ago, smiled at the suggestion that he had made a calculated call to hold back when Wilde made his unexpected early move.
“To be honest I think Hayden ran an amazing race and I couldn’t go with him,” he said. “But then I thought of the people who had helped get me here.
“The guys behind were also coming very fast so it’s amazing that we are able to share these battles, for everyone to sort of elevate each other to those new heights.”
Yee’s double medal haul in Tokyo was of course in the empty streets of the COVID-19 Games and he said that made him all the more appreciative of the crowds who turned out on Wednesday.
“They came and they lined the streets and everyone gave me a push today to get to Hayden,” he said.
“I also appreciate Hayden for just giving me that push and really extracting everything out of my body.”
Wilde repaid the compliment: “It’s just great to have a rivalry like this. We just wake up and push each other every day,” he said.
“It makes us stronger, it makes the whole field stronger because Alex is chasing me and I’m chasing him and then everyone else is chasing the both of us.”