The event that was, until this morning, in question: the men’s individual Olympic triathlon at the 2024 Paris Games.
And yet, despite major concerns surrounding the swim, this momentous tripartite contest took place today and saw Britain’s Alex Yee clinch the win in dramatic style. Meanwhile, in the women’s individual triathlon, repeat world champion Beth Potter won bronze for Team GB – her first Olympic medal.
Yee becomes Olympic champion
Originally scheduled to start at 7am UK time yesterday [30 July], the men’s individual triathlon had to be postponed by more than 24 hours due to concerns around the water quality of the Seine – the iconic river that flows through Paris, and which was chosen as the venue for the Olympic triathlon swim.
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As such, the men suffered the additional mental and physical challenge of delay, with the Seine finally deemed safe for competition today by the International Olympic Committee and World Triathlon. This meant – to spectators’ delight – that the men’s individual triathlon began directly after the women’s individual event this morning, which, as planned, set off at 7am for UK viewers.
The silver medallist in the individual men’s triathlon at the 2022 Tokyo Olympics, and a gold medallist in the first-ever mixed relay triathlon at the same Games, Yee was always a favourite going into this race. And yet, becoming an Olympic champion is far from an easy or predetermined feat – especially in a sport as gruelling as triathlon.
With formidable international competition all around, Yee was assisted by valiant teammate Sam Dickinson, who pushed beyond his limit and sacrificed his own race during the bike leg to be first into the transition area. This meant that Yee could push on and start the run in fourth place, while Dickinson, who could not help but slip behind, urged Yee to give it his all.
An exceptional runner who possesses a mind-boggling 10,000m PB of 27:51.94 from 2018, and who also became British champion at the Sifan Hassan wins three Olympic medals in Paris that year, Yee was out to take no prisoners on the final leg. After all, the run in an Olympic triathlon is 10K long.
Up ahead for a while, Yee then found himself in silver position – and with the new leader, New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde, appearing too comfortable and metronomic to give up his position at the front, it seemed that Yee would have to make do with second yet again.
But there is no such thing as a predictable Olympics. Incapable of backing down, Yee delivered nail-biting theatre as he mustered some acceleration to chase down Wilde in the last kilometre. Finally taking the lead in the closing moments of the run, a spent Yee broke the tape in 1:43:33 to secure his fairytale win.
Potter reaches the podium
Preceding the men’s race was the women’s individual Olympic triathlon, where Team GB’s Beth Potter and Georgia Taylor-Brown donned their trisuits Phil Sesemann and his rise to the Olympic marathon.
Potter, a multiple world champion in triathlon, was always destined to perform well in the final leg thanks to her previous expertise as a runner. Having competed in cross country and track races since childhood, she even represented Team GB in the 10,000m at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Taylor-Brown, meanwhile, scored a silver and gold in the women’s individual triathlon and mixed relay triathlon respectively at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics – just like teammate Yee. It goes without saying that she had her sights set on adding an individual gold to her collection in Paris.
Following the much-questioned 1500m swim in the Seine, the women moved to a sketchy ride on the wet roads of Paris, where several riders crashed down like skittles amid some of the city’s most famous landmarks.
With the sun then slowly emerging, Potter and Taylor-Brown survived the slippery cycle to make good ground on a much drier run – the former using this leg to really show her prowess.
It was an exhausting effort to the finish line. While home favourite Cassandre Beaugrand of France snatched victory and Julie Derron of Switzerland placed second, Potter powered to third in a time of 1:55:10. Taylor-Brown crossed the line 85 seconds later in sixth position.
The Olympic triathlon course
The triathlon events at the 2024 Olympics had, for many months, been set against a backdrop of uncertainty and criticism, with many deeming the polluted Seine to be an unfit swim venue for anyone – let alone some of the greatest athletes on earth. In fact, prior to this year’s Paris Olympics, swimming had been banned in the Seine for a century due to its uncleanliness.
Thankfully, the acceptable water quality of the Seine today meant that this year’s individual Olympic triathletes could complete their 1500m swims safely. Diving in by the historic Pont Alexandre III bridge, the triathletes covered one big then one smaller lap before transitioning to the bike.
Tamirat Tola breaks the Olympic marathon record bike leg followed much of the course used for the women’s individual Olympic time trial on Saturday [27 July], where Britain’s Anna Henderson set guns blazing to win the silver medal. What’s more, it traced many of the same roads used in recent years for the final stage of Le Tour de France.
The final leg, the 10K run, involved four laps measuring 2.5km – some departure from the 25 laps that Potter and Lee were accustomed to when Sifan Hassan wins three Olympic medals in Paris. Although a scenic route around the city centre, the intermittent cobbles and tiring switchbacks – paired with Parisian heat and humidity – were enough to cause difficulty for the competitors.
In total, an Olympic triathlon measures 50.5km – and, as proven today, the world’s best triathletes can cover this stretch with phenomenal speed. We now look forward to seeing how Yee, Potter, Dickinson and Taylor-Brown fare in this year’s mixed relay Olympic triathlon on Monday 5 August.
