Alex Yee: Leeds win shot me to Olympic triathlon silver

Yee is ninth in the World Triathlon Championship standings before this weekend's event in Leeds

Britain's Alex Yee says his win in last year's World Triathlon Series event in Leeds fuelled his run to Olympic silver in Tokyo two months later.

Victory at Roundhay Park in 2021 was Yee's first World Series success.

"Having Leeds as my last race beforehand definitely gave me some momentum going into the Olympics," the 24-year-old told BBC Sport before this weekend's race in Yorkshire.

"It was a very special moment and helped me believe in what I was doing."

Yee has also competed in top-level athletics, running in European Championships and the Anniversary Games, but is now concentrated on triathlon.

He returns to Leeds for this weekend's edition off the back of victory in the World Series' 2022 opener in Yokohama in May.

However, he says last year's race in Leeds helped instil a belief that he could master the three disciplines of the sport.

• How to watch the World Triathlon Series on BBC Sport

"There was a belief factor from it. It was the first race where I had put together a good race from all three discipline which I didn't feel I had done before," he added.

"Apparently my dad was crying and I have never seen him cry in my life! Proud parents are the coolest things ever it was one of the big motivators for me."

To go from a maiden World Series win to second place in the Olympics in the space of a summer would satisfy most, but Yee says he couldn't resist wondering what might have been in Tokyo.

He had led for much of the final 10km run leg before Norway's Kristian Blummenfelt broke away to take gold.

"On that day he was the best athlete we had seen in the last five years," Yee said of his rival. "I have never seen anything like his last mile, the way he ran away from me was incredible. It was amazing, kudos to him.

"Silver was amazing, but there was something about sitting next to Christian - he did a really good job of making the gold medal look amazing compared to silver. I thought 'Man I really want one of them."

Five days later, Yee got an Olympic gold of his own.

Teaming up with Jess Learmonth, Jonny Brownlee and Georgia Taylor-Brown, Yee anchored Britain home to mixed relay gold on the event's Olympic debut.

Yee is greeted by his team-mates at the end of the mixed relay in Tokyo

The mixed relay will make its first appearance at the Leeds this weekend, headlining Sunday's action after Yee, Taylor-Brown and Brownlee compete in Saturday's individual sprint races.

"It was really special," remembers Yee of their Olympic relay success.

"Many times we had tried that configuration and not got it right so the Olympics was the first time we did. It was a massive honour to bring it home. The first three guys had done such an incredible job that anything less than gold would have been an injustice."

• Is food as addictive as drugs? Explore the latest evidence underpinning the scientific basis for overeating

• From Hollywood to rural England: Joe Wicks and Russell Brand discuss fatherhood and going grey