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 individual 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 and a second Games gold.
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.
Yee keeps believing
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. 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.”
Full results here.
