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A determination to give it one last shot and some words of encouragement from Alistair Brownlee spurred Alex Yee on to an extraordinary triathlon gold medal.
The 26-year-old Londoner went into the delayed men’s race as the favourite but looked to have been beaten into silver by his big rival Hayden Wilde from New Zealand, who had a 14-second lead going into the final lap of the 10 kilometre run.
But Yee, who claimed silver in Tokyo, had kept just enough in his legs and surged past Wilde in the final 500 metres to cross the finish line first on the Pont Alexandre III.
“I was riding a bit of a bad patch from 2-6K,” said Yee, who also anchored Britain to mixed relay gold in Tokyo.
“And maybe in my head I probably thought ‘second’, with the guys closing quite rapidly behind, that was the best thing for me. But I just didn’t want to give up on myself.
“I don’t even know if I thought I was going to win. I wanted to cross that finish line knowing I’d given 100 per cent. I thought maybe he would be a little bit fresher, me having caught him. So I was like, ‘If I give 100 per cent and he comes back around me then I have to be at peace with that’.
“And it was enough. It’s amazing to be part of this level, and to be able to be pushed by Hayden and have those battles I think is something I’ll relish forever.”
Alistair was one of the people with one lap to go who said to me, 'Anything can happen, mate'.
Yee watched Brownlee win gold in Hyde Park 12 years ago and the two-time gold medallist was among the hordes packing the side of the course around central Paris.
“It’s pretty special,” he said of having emulated the Yorkshireman, before revealing the role Britain’s greatest triathlete played in the closing stages.
“Alistair was one of the people with one lap to go who said to me, ‘Anything can happen, mate’. He shouted that out. It’s a pretty special moment to look back at that now.”
The men’s race had been due to take place on Tuesday but was cancelled at only a few hours’ notice after water quality in the Seine was still deemed not up to scratch.
Yee said of the concerns: “I think, for me, you’ve got to have trust in the organisation that they’re going to put you in safe conditions. I’m sure we’ll find out in due time if that’s correct.
“One of the risks of being in the best venue of the Olympics was the water quality. For us to be able to have this historic moment, to be able to race the Olympics in the Seine, hopefully leave a legacy behind. Hopefully people can go and swim there later and be inspired from what we’ve done.”
Wilde, meanwhile, revealed he had been going to bed at 7pm and getting up at 5.30am every day for two months to prepare for an 8am start only for the race to be scheduled at 10.45am at one day’s notice.
The key thing for Yee was to ensure he was not too far off the pace in the swim and he managed to get into the lead group on the bike, with Wilde back in the second pack.
The New Zealander worked hard to catch up but was caught out again in the second transition as Yee pulled away in the initial stages of the run.
However, Wilde not only chased him down but passed him and appeared to be heading for a certain victory only for Yee to retake the lead almost within sight of the finish line.
The Londoner did not even raise his arms, saying: “I think it was a bit of disbelief to be honest, that I was the first person to cross the finish line. I just got to the finish line and I was like, ‘Oh my days’. It’s pretty mad.”
Wilde admitted he paid for his efforts on the bike, saying: “If I didn’t put that big surge in and shoot some ammo there, it would have been game over. For sure I think it probably stung my legs a bit too much.”
He was not aware Yee was about to catch him, adding: “It was too loud. I was just depleted, I was gone, I was done. I had nothing left and I just had to survive to get to the finish line. It was actually really nice Alex and I finally got a battle we both deserve.
“It was just everything that we had dreamed of. Being together on the podium, it was something special. We might be rivals but we’re really good friends.”
Britain’s Sam Dickinson played a key role in supporting Yee, meanwhile, leading him out at the end of the bike leg and into the run before urging his compatriot on.
He later likened himself to a character from the film A Knight’s Tale, saying: “When they send the knight off to joust, all of his squires behind him, geeing him up, shouting, ‘Get in the cradle’. I felt like that was my job. I’m proud I could do it.”
