Alex Yee to run Diamond League 5000m on Saturday

Chief Correspondent

Anniversary Games appearance for British 10,000m Champion

Alex Yee, the 20 year old British athlete who has been excelling at both triathlon/duathlon and track, will be running on Sunday over 5000m at the Müller Anniversary Games, the first of two British rounds of the IAAF Diamond League.

World Junior Duathlon Champion in 2016 and European Junior Duathlon Champion in 2017, Yee’s route to success suffered a setback in June last year, with a big bike crash at the Cagliari ITU World Cup event in Italy.

His recovery from broken ribs, vertebrae and punctured lung has been remarkable, and in May this year Alex became the British Senior 10,000m champion, setting a huge PB of 27:51.94 at the Highgate Harriers Night of the 10,000m PBs. That performance qualified him to race for Great Britain over 10,000m this Summer at the Berlin European Athletics Championships.

Without a doubt. The best day of my life so far. Thank you to everyone who came and supported. I appreciate every single one of you. 27:51?!?!? pic.twitter.com/38KPpniAFF

— Alex yee (@Lixsanyee) May 21, 2018

Alex currently has a PB over 5,000m of 13:37.60, set in May last year in Flanders, Belgium. That – with full credit to Athletics historian and statistician, Ian Hodge, was the “Fastest by a GB Junior since 1981”.

Statistically at least, his Highgate 10,000m time suggests that a 5,000m performance in the region of 13:20 may well be a realistic goal. Up against the world’s best, they could well drag him to an impressive new personal best shortly after 3pm on Saturday afternoon.