Tokyo Olympics: GB's Alex Yee wins silver in men's triathlon as Kristian Blummenfelt takes gold
- Published
Highlights: Blummenfelt wins triathlon gold with GB's Yee's second
Tokyo Olympic Games on the BBC |
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Dates: 23 July-8 August Time in Tokyo: BST +8 |
Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button and online; Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live, Sports Extra and Sounds; live text and video clips on BBC Sport website and app. |
Great Britain's Alex Yee won silver in a punishing men's triathlon at the Tokyo Olympics as Kristian Blummenfelt of Norway claimed gold.
Yee, making his Games debut, led for much of the 10km run before Blummenfelt produced a stunning breakaway in 27C heat and high humidity.
New Zealand's Hayden Wilde took bronze, with Briton Jonny Brownlee fifth.
"I am just a normal guy from south-east London - dreams really do come true," 23-year-old Yee told BBC Sport.
"My mum always says it takes a village to build a person and I think it has taken the whole of GB today."
Blummenfelt was in disbelief as he won, grasping the finishing tape before falling to the floor and then being taken to see the medics.
Gold medallist Kristian Blummenfelt finished 11 seconds ahead of Great Britain's Alex Yee
Kristian Blummenfelt was helped up by bronze medallist Hayden Wilde (right) after collapsing at the finish line
He is the first Norwegian to win a medal at the Tokyo Games, taking victory in one hour, 45 minutes and four seconds.
Yee, who finished 11 seconds behind Blummenfelt, said he was "over the moon" with his silver.
"In training I went much harder than this race but unfortunately he was better on the day," Yee added.
The event - which was moved to the early hours in Tokyo to avoid the worst of the heat - had to be restarted after a boat blocked about half of the athletes as they entered the water.
'Absolutely speechless' - Boat causes false start in triathlon
Yee, known as one of the fastest runners in triathlon, was competing in just his eighth race at this level.
He previously represented Great Britain in the 10,000m at the European Championships in 2018 but trained with the Brownlee brothers in Leeds to develop as a triathlete.
However he suffered a serious crash on the bike in his first World Cup event in June 2017, causing a punctured lung and breaking ribs, vertebrae and a shoulder blade.
Yee returned nine months later and claimed his first World Cup victory in Leeds earlier this year, beating both Brownlees to take gold.
No fairytale ending for Brownlee
Yee paced himself well, building through the swim and on the bike before surging to the front on the run.
Compatriot Brownlee - who admitted he does not like the hot conditions of Tokyo - was in medal contention until the final two laps, when he was unable to keep up with the lead group.
This will be the last Olympics for Brownlee, who won silver at the Rio Olympics and bronze in London.
"It wasn't a fairytale ending [for me] but we have got another chance in the mixed team relay," he said.
"I have seen Alex come up though the ranks and he deserved that. He works ridiculously hard and I am pleased he is in our team on Saturday and I am not against him.
"I knew the heat was one of my weaknesses. I put in a lot of effort to get ready and I think I coped well with the heat, but I just didn't have enough."
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