GB's Yee claims victory in Weihai as Potter second

Great Britain's Olympic champion Alex Yee took victory in the penultimate race of the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS), as Beth Potter finished second in the women's race in Weihai, China.

Yee, 26, crossed the line in one hour 48 minutes 21 seconds to finish 46 seconds clear of France's Leo Bergere, with Brazil's Miguel Hidalgo in third.

Potter, winner of bronze at Paris 2024, finished 17 seconds behind Germany's winner Lisa Tertsch, as fellow Britons Georgia Taylor-Brown and Kate Waugh finished third and fifth respectively.

Yee leads the overall men's rankings before next month's championship final, while reigning women's champion Potter is second to Olympic champion Cassandre Beaugrand.

"I just wanted to come back and have fun, the last few weeks have been absolutely chaotic. I’m really pleased, that is a race to be proud of," Yee said.

"Since I was young [the swim] has been my weakest discipline but I have been working towards the point where I can call myself a complete triathlete and I feel I’m getting close to that."

Championship runner-up in 2022, Yee led the run from start to finish to claim victory at the first race held in Weihai, as New Zealand’s Olympic silver medallist Hayden Wilde faded to seventh.

Jack Willis was ninth, ahead of Max Stapley (11th), Connor Bentley (17th) and Harry Leleu (30th).

Potter was unable to close the gap as Tertsch also led throughout the run to win in 02:04:42, but finished 41 seconds ahead of British team-mate Taylor-Brown.

Waugh followed German Tanja Neubert over the line, with Sian Rainsley in 20th.

The World Triathlon Championship Series Final takes place in Torremolinos-Andalucia in Spain from 17-20 October.

Yee has taken maximum points from his three races counting towards the series ranking - at the WTCS Cagliari and Paris Olympics in addition to Weihai.

Potter reduced the gap to Beaugrand with her first second-placed finish, having finished third in her past three races.

She is 113.73 points behind the Frenchwoman, with 1250 points - compared to 1,000 in the other series races - up for grabs at the WTCS Finals.

Tertsch is close behind in the standings following her victory, with 2020 champion and 2022 runner-up Taylor-Brown 408.74 points off the podium.

Alex Yee won Olympic gold with a sensational sprint finish at Paris 2024