A final
lap of an Olympic Games that will be talked about for years to come. When Alex
Yee (GBR) took the bell he found himself 15 seconds off leader Hayden Wilde
(NZL) and was staring at a second successive Olympic silver. What came next was
nothing short of extraordinary, as Wilde started to feel the heat and the Brit
slowly reeled him in, passing just before the final turn to the blue carpet and
taking the tape.
It was
ecstasy for Yee, heartbreak for the New Zealander, while the crowd roared home
Leo Bergere for a fine home-nation bronze.
“I gave
my best account of myself on the run,” said Yee. “At 5k I was going through a
real bad patch and honestly probably thought the race was over, but I wanted to
give myself that one last chance and not give up on what I worked so hard for
and what so many other people have worked with me to achieve. I owed it to them
and myself to give it one last chance. Triathlon racing for me has always been
about racing through three events, not just the one, so I was really proud to
be an animator in the race, put on a show, and hopefully people were able to
enjoy.”
“Through
two to six kilometres I was probably riding a bit of a bad patch and maybe in
my head I probably thought (aim for) second, with the guys closing quite
rapidly behind, maybe thought that was the best thing for me. I just didn’t
want to give up on myself, I really said to myself with 3km to go, I just want
to give myself one more chance.”
Crociani
and Hauser dart the swim
The
currents in the Seine contributed to a hugely tough swim, Henri Schoeman
gloriously unaware of anything further back as the Rio 2016 medallist found the
clear water up ahead. It was no surprise to see Australian Matthew Hauser,
French pair Pierre le Corre and Dorian Coninx and Schoeman’s compatriot Jamie
Riddle going well, but Italy’s Crociani moved to the front as the pontoon drew
closer for the second and final time.
Out of
the water, Yee was 27 seconds off the front, Wilde a minute back just off
Kristian Blummenfelt and Miguel Hidalgo, Csongor Lehmann effectively swimming
blind after losing both hat and goggles on lap one.
Bike pack
of 19 takes early control
Alex Yee
was soon out front on the bike and making moves with the French trio, Dylan
McCullough and Jamie Riddle. Wilde was working hard over the opening kilometres
to drag himself back into the race and a strong group along with Blummenfelt,
Vilaca and GB’s Samuel Dickinson 13 seconds off the pace.
Both
groups were motoring, but the gap started to shrink over the closing stages as
Blummenfelt really piled on the power and on the penultimate lap they merged
into a 32-deep rolling train of absolute contenders for the medals.
Wilde
detonates the run
Yee was
onto the gas early on the run and throwing down the challenge to the rest of
the field, Hauser and Vilaca looking to keep in touch, Lehmann holding on
bravely after forcing his way back into the mix.
Rising
star Alberto Gonzalez Garcia was motoring as Spain’s leading light, Leo Bergere
once again quietly going about another superb run along with Le Corre, teammate
Dorian Coninx dropping back, his Yokohama crash-hit preparations seeming to
take a toll on his ability to stay the pace.
Up ahead,
Hayden Wilde had pulled up alongside Yee seemingly ready to set up another game
of cat-and-mouse with his best rival, but this time dropped the hammer
immediately and managed to carve out a full 10 seconds over the Brit. The gap
even grew marginally from there as Wilde hit his groove, Yee unable to respond
but well ahead of the battle for third.
Then came
the unthinkable. Just as gold looked nailed on for the New Zealander, the heat
and exertion took grip and Yee sensed blood. 8.5km out things started to shift
on the Paris streets. Suddenly the gap was under ten seconds, then five as they
hit the Saint Germain Boulevard for the final time.
Ahead of
the final right turn onto the blue carpet, Yee was onto Wilde and past him, and
from there it was no turning back. Yee ran a full 20 seconds faster than Wilde
over the final 1.45km to pull clear and take the tape by 6 seconds from his
devastated sparring partner, while Leo Bergere let out a roar as he secured the
bronze ahead of Le Corre.
Vasco
Vilaca edged a massive sprint finish against his young teammate Ricardo
Batista, Matt Hauser with seventh, Gonzalez, Tyler Mislawchuk and Miguel
Hidalgo closing out the top 10.
HAYDEN
WILDE (silver)
“(The
swim) was fantastic. It was actually harder than last year (during the test
event). Obviously, the current was a lot stronger. It was technically the
hardest swim we’ve ever done. Obviously, by the time, you can see we were in
there for a few extra minutes, so that was really tough. You kind of had to
take your own line every time. And I was trying to go as far right as possible
and came out in a really nice position where I was kind of satisfied with.”
“It was
just that positioning was key for that swim, and I got myself into a good spot
and into a good chase group. Obviously, we caught up ... and that’s a big
thanks to my teammate (Dylan McCollough). He came back, he waited, and he
bridged that gap and sacrificed his race. So yeah, that guy deserves the keys
to New Zealand because he was the one who helped me get the silver medal.”
LEO
BERGERE (bronze)
“It’s
historic, today French triathlon has achieved something exceptional. It’s 10 to
15 years of collective work from the staff, the federation, and many athletes.
I was really focusing on not letting myself get distracted by the public, who
were absolutely fabulous today. But when I let out my joy after the last turn,
when I realised I had made the podium, it was a moment I’ll remember all my
life. “I’m so happy to do it with my loved ones at the finish line. It’s a
moment I got to share with them and it’s indescribable.”
“I’ve
always tried to climb the ladder step by step, to not look too far ahead and to
concentrate on the task ahead each year. And little by little - with hard work,
and a great team around me - I managed to get it done.”
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