By Mitch Phillips
PARIS (Reuters) -Britain’s Alex Yee ran a perfectly-paced 10km to snatch a dramatic Olympic triathlon gold on Wednesday, overhauling a fading Hayden Wilde of New Zealand in brutal conditions.
The race was originally due to be held on Tuesday but postponed due to poor water quality in the river Seine and, after the swim and bike leg, a huge group of 32 hit the transition to the run together.
Yee and Wilde immediately forged clear but the New Zealander, bronze medallist in Tokyo, surprisingly made an early move, with Yee, widely regarded as the fastest runner in the field and silver medallist three years ago, declining to respond.
It looked to be Wilde’s race but the hard pace and 30 degree Celsius heat sapped his energy and Yee, previously a British 10,000 metres champion, showed his mastery of the distance, flying past with less than 300 metres to go and finishing clear.
The 26-year-olds, who have been trading podium places for years, collapsed after the finish line and Wilde put his arm around Yee.
“I honestly thought the race was over for me, but I wanted to give myself that one last chance and not give up,” Yee said.
Wilde paid homage to New Zealand’s Dylan McCullough, who pulled back in the bike stage to pick up his teammate and carry him into the leading peloton.
“He came back, he waited and he bridged that gap… he’s the one who helped me get the silver medal,” Wilde told reporters.
Leo Bergere of France took the bronze on a good day for the host nation after Cassandre Beaugrand won the women’s race.
Yee breaking the ribbon in Paris crowns an already remarkable career and adds to Britain’s domination of the Olympic individual triathlon, marking the 10th medal for the country after Beth Potter earlier won bronze.
Norway’s 30-year-old Kristian Blummenfelt, who won gold in Tokyo, finished 12th.
Britain’s Sam Dickinson, who played the role of domestique to Yee for the bike stage, dropped back barely a kilometre into the run, pointing at his teammate in pole position and encouraging the crowd to cheer him on.
Dickinson’s focus will now be on the mixed team relay on Monday, where France will be a force to reckon with and hoping to better their bronze from Tokyo.
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, Additional reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Clare Fallon, Ken Ferris and Christian Radnedge)
