Hand-in-hand triathlon finish felt right thing to do - Georgia Taylor-Brown

Britain's Georgia Taylor-Brown says her hand-in-hand finish with Jess Learmonth at the World Triathlon Olympic qualification event in Tokyo earlier this month "felt like the right thing to do".

A photo finish initially gave Learmonth victory, with Taylor-Brown second.

However, the pair were later disqualified after being deemed to have broken a race rule.

"We enjoyed it, just a shame it got taken away from us," said Taylor-Brown.

"There was nothing more we could have done - we couldn't have finished any higher than the positions we were in.

"With all the adrenaline going through your body you make what is now the wrong decision but at the time felt like the right decision for us."

By finishing together the British duo broke International Triathlon Union (ITU) competition rule 2.11.f, which states "athletes who finish in a contrived tie situation, where no effort to separate their finish times has been made, will be disqualified".

Learmonth said in hindsight she would not do it again, largely because of the reaction to it.

"It just caused such a fuss and everyone has an opinion," she told BBC Sport.

"It would have been easier if we had let go of the hands slightly earlier but we didn't. It doesn't matter."

Learmonth said the moment the duo were told they were disqualified actually came as a relief because she feared they were about to be told worse news about one of their colleagues.

Top-ranked Katie Zaferes of the United States crashed into a barrier during the bike stage of the race.

"We'd just had our interviews and Ben, our coach came along with a piece of paper and looked like death," added Learmonth.

"It was the most weird situation and he said 'you've been disqualified' and I actually thought 'thank God for that' because I thought something really bad had happened to Katie."

Zaferes, who broke her nose and also needed 23 stitches in her mouth after the crash, will win the 2019 World Triathlon Series if she finishes in the top 12 of Saturday's Grand Final in Lausanne, Switzerland.

"The mental aspect over the last two weeks have been more difficult than the physical part," said Zaferes.

"You have your doubts about your skills and readiness going into another race. I do feel like I am capable of rebounding. I now feel ready."

Learmonth and Taylor-Brown, second and third respectively, could take advantage of any slip-ups by Zaferes to become world champion.