SaqBy Will Castle
Olympic champion Alex Yee insists his Cole Palmer-inspired celebration was not intended to disrespect his great rival.
After overtaking New Zealander Hayden Wilde in the final metres to win Olympic gold, the triathlete repeated the feat at the Boston supertri a few days later.
Yee drew the ire of many, including Wilde, by crossing his arms in a “cold” celebration popularised by Palmer and Kylian Mbappe as he crossed the line to win the race.
“It was just excitement,” Yee said, speaking at the national finals of the School Games, a biennial four-day multi-sport event for young school-aged athletes.
“For me, triathlon is my way of expression and the fact that we were able to show some personality, we don’t have that very often in our sport.
“We have two minutes after a race to show who we are and a little bit of social media, but other than that our expression comes from the race course.
“I think I was just excited – being out of the race with probably a mile to go and then being able to come back and win was just excited.
“The first thing I did when I realized he didn’t like what I was doing was make sure he was okay. And to be honest, he told me it wasn’t about celebrating, it was about the result.
“It gave me comfort to know that we can express ourselves and celebrate, because hundreds of other sports do it and are celebrated for it.”
The two current world triathlon leaders, Wilde and Yee, form a real rivalry at the top of the sport.
Leading triathlon into a new generation as the Brownlee brothers begin to fade away, Yee is proud to be among those to beat in an increasingly competitive field.
“I would like to think this is the most competitive event triathlon has ever seen and I think it’s incredible that Hayden and I can lead the way with this,” he added.
“There are 55 other incredible guys working incredibly hard to get there, but it’s really cool to be leading the way with Hayden.”
Leaving Paris with not only individual triathlon gold but also mixed relay bronze, Yee is now the most decorated Olympic triathlete of all time after winning relay gold and individual silver at Tokyo 2020.
Now a household name in his home country, Yee is in no hurry to fully appreciate the magnitude of his triumph.
In fact, he is relying on the support of fellow Closing Ceremony flag bearer Bryony Page – Team GB’s first Olympic trampoline champion – to reach new heights of fame.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet, to be honest,” said Yee, speaking at this year’s School Games national final, the 16th since the inaugural event in Glasgow in 2006 and part of an incredible summer of sport that includes the EUROs and the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. “I had a chat with Bryony Page, who was another flag bearer and won her medal at the same time as me, and she said her coach had told her it took her whole life to think about it.
“I try not to rush, let reality set in and just enjoy the moment, live each day one day and just enjoy the process.
“It was really special, it’s nice to feel the love, we’re still a small sport so to see so many people excited and telling me how excited they were for the finish, on the edge of their seats to the point of giving them a heart attack, it’s really cool and really special.”
The School Games National Finals is a biennial four-day multi-sport event for young school-aged athletes funded by National Lottery funding from Sport England and supported by all home country sports councils and UK Sport.
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