World Triathlon Series: Georgia Taylor-Brown & Alex Yee win in Japan
- Published
The next event of the World Triathlon Series takes place in Leeds on 11 and 12 June
Britons Georgia Taylor-Brown and Alex Yee won their respective races at the World Triathlon Championship Series' first event of 2022 in Yokohama.
Taylor-Brown moved to the top of the event standings with her impressive victory in one hour 51.44 seconds.
Compatriot Yee outsprinted New Zealand's Hayden Wilde in the final straight to earn victory in 1:43:30.
"I'd like to say it feels amazing but it actually just feels really painful," Taylor-Brown joked after her win.
Taylor-Brown attacked during the first 500m of the run, passing leader Maya Kingma before she was reeled back in by the chasing group.
However, the Briton kicked on to open up a huge lead and secure victory in Japan.
"I went out hard because I thought it is the first race and I've got nothing to lose," Taylor-Brown said.
"They got back on to me after a lap but I just told myself to sit on it and empty everything out."
France's Leonie Periault finished second, with Olympic champion Flora Duffy of Bermuda third.
In the men's race, Wilde and Yee were locked in competition until the final few metres.
Yee made his move and sprinted to the finish, with Wilde having to settle for second and France's Leo Bergere third.
This was the first World Triathlon Series race of the year - with the next taking place in Leeds on 11 and 12 June.
With postponements and cancellations because of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, the final two events held last year in Hamburg and Abu Dhabi count as the opening two legs of the 2022 season.
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