Yee: Growth and maturity key to Paris 2024 triathlon gold dream
Alex Yee stormed into the Team GB spotlight three years ago when he claimed a gold and a silver in the Tokyo 2020 triathlons.
It was a scene of agony in the individual event where, leading into the run, Yee was tracked down and overtaken by Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt.
But days later in the mixed relay the now 26-year-old, alongside Jess Learmonth, Jonathan Brownlee and Georgia Taylor-Brown, won the elusive gold medal.
With nearly 50 per cent of Team GB in Paris competing in their first Olympic Games, Yee is now one of the more experienced ones – albeit not quite having the longevity, yet, of Andy Murray or Helen Glover. And the Londoner insists he is more mature now than ever before.
Growth
“I do feel like I have matured a lot,” Yee said on Tuesday ahead of the men’s individual event on 30 July. “I’m really excited to show that.
“I feel like I’m in much more of a position where I am able to dictate what I’m doing and the people around me to get the best out of everyone.
“I feel very prepared. And I’m really looking forward to just starting.”
The pressure is on Yee and Team GB to perform in the triathlons across this year’s Olympic Games.
Britain has been the best nation at the sport in the last three Olympiads, including Tokyo where the relay was introduced for the first time.
Team GB did not medal in either the men’s or women’s events prior to London 2012 but have picked up eight medals out of a possible 21 since then. Twice – thanks to the Brownlees — Britain has achieved double podiums (2012 and 2016).
Yee leading the mission
“Somebody gave me the advice to put my medal in a sock and then put it in a drawer [after Tokyo]. So that’s the first thing I did when I got in the hotel room after the individual [race],” he said.
“I’ve been working with a psychologist and for me I have found a huge power in debriefing what I do, whether that is a success or a failure. A lot of my growth comes from being able to analyse and understand what’s happening and actually just kind of put it in a box and move on.”
This year Yee and Taylor-Brown will be joined by Kate Waugh, Sam Dickinson and Beth Potter. Potter is the leading female triathlete for Team GB and qualified for the team, along with Yee, in 2023. It is the first Games since 2004 without one of the Brownlee brothers in Team GB.
“We’ve got some world leading athletes,” Yee added. “I always say we’re led by our women.
“That was shown by how hard that selection was, to get into the team itself
“It’s extremely exciting, and to be led by some very strong women is never a bad thing, is it?
“We’re going to still have an extremely experienced relay team [without the Brownlees] which will be good.”