Alex Yee of England Wins First Gold Medal Of The 2022 Commonwealth Games
- 2 years ago
England's Alex Yee won the first gold medal of the 2022 Commonwealth Games with victory in the men's triathlon. Yee overturned a 16-second deficit to leader Hayden Wilde in the 5km run and the New Zealander was then given a 10-second penalty for a transition.
When he got to the level of the last of the damned, Hayden Wilde, his great rival and close friend knew the game was over, so he could only smile and offer a pat on the back as Yee passed.
With it, the 24-year-old from Lewisham handed England their first gold of these Games and a reminder, if need be, that the Brownlees have their successor, here and beyond.
There will be those who question the value of the prizes in this scenario, but not those who know triathlon, much less those who know Wilde. You can always find cheaper medals at the Commonwealth Games, but the New Zealander is no easy target: he's No. 2 in the world and won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.
But she lost silver to Yee in Japan and he beat her to gold at this park a little north of Birmingham. And what a race it was, spoiled just a bit by Wilde's realization in the 5K that he would have to serve a 10-second penalty for unfastening his helmet too early in the second transition. But even then he knew it would be academic: Yee would catch him anyway.
That's from a 15-second deficit after the 750m swim and the same after the 20km bike, times that saw Yee 16th out of the water and just 5th entering the race. It's important to realize at this stage that Wilde is a very good runner over the distance: his best time on a track is 13:29 and he even flirted with the idea of qualifying for the athletics portion of the Games.
But Yee is a bit faster, fast enough to be an international racer in his own right and the best on the roads in his sport. And so, he gave the race back to him, and then took it from him, finally passing Wilde inside the final kilometer and collapsing to the ground after 50 minutes and 34 seconds. It was then that he declared it his crowning achievement, surpassing his Olympic silver medal and the gold he won in the team event.
"This is a home Games and it's the first time I've been able to run in front of my parents in a long time," he said. “I would probably say it's my best moment.
When he got to the level of the last of the damned, Hayden Wilde, his great rival and close friend knew the game was over, so he could only smile and offer a pat on the back as Yee passed.
With it, the 24-year-old from Lewisham handed England their first gold of these Games and a reminder, if need be, that the Brownlees have their successor, here and beyond.
There will be those who question the value of the prizes in this scenario, but not those who know triathlon, much less those who know Wilde. You can always find cheaper medals at the Commonwealth Games, but the New Zealander is no easy target: he's No. 2 in the world and won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.
But she lost silver to Yee in Japan and he beat her to gold at this park a little north of Birmingham. And what a race it was, spoiled just a bit by Wilde's realization in the 5K that he would have to serve a 10-second penalty for unfastening his helmet too early in the second transition. But even then he knew it would be academic: Yee would catch him anyway.
That's from a 15-second deficit after the 750m swim and the same after the 20km bike, times that saw Yee 16th out of the water and just 5th entering the race. It's important to realize at this stage that Wilde is a very good runner over the distance: his best time on a track is 13:29 and he even flirted with the idea of qualifying for the athletics portion of the Games.
But Yee is a bit faster, fast enough to be an international racer in his own right and the best on the roads in his sport. And so, he gave the race back to him, and then took it from him, finally passing Wilde inside the final kilometer and collapsing to the ground after 50 minutes and 34 seconds. It was then that he declared it his crowning achievement, surpassing his Olympic silver medal and the gold he won in the team event.
"This is a home Games and it's the first time I've been able to run in front of my parents in a long time," he said. “I would probably say it's my best moment.