Olympic champion Alex Yee has explained why focusing on a first appearance at the London Marathon this year should make him an even stronger triathlete.
The Briton, who turns 27 later this month, enjoyed the perfect 2024 – winning gold in Paris in memorable fashion as he overhauled great rival Hayden Wilde late on the run, before going on to add a first WTCS world title in Torremolinos in October.
But he announced in December that the first part of this season would see him step away from triathlon and instead train for the London Marathon, his first attempt at the distance and something he has always wanted to do since running the Mini London Marathon as a kid.
All about getting better for Alex Yee
And in a fascinating interview with Matt Stephens on his Unplugged podcast for Sigma Sports, he explains the thinking behind that – and reveals when he’s likely to make his return to the swim, bike, run world.
READ MORE: What is a good marathon time?
Yee of course was a runner – British champion at 10,000 metres no less – before making the decision to prioritise triathlon.
The last couple of years have seen him work incredibly hard to improve his swim and bike and now it appears it’s time for the last component of triathlon to get what could be a pivotal refresh.
He told Stephens: “The whole purpose of this year is about improving and getting better.
“One of the things which I haven’t felt like I’ve been able to work on in a long time is my run, because I’ve been having to work so hard on specific stuff within cycling and swimming, to be at an Olympic level, to be able to be competitive and then be actually able to use my weapon, which I would say is my run, to its fullest extent.
“So, for me, this year, I’ve tried to go a slightly different way and try and do a bit more run racing to influence my run physiology and hopefully overall physiology so that I can come back to triathlon and be better.”
The science behind the plan
It’s a daunting prospect for his triathlon rivals given that Yee is already renowned as one of the very best runners in the sport.
He added: “The marathon for me is all about moving on my threshold speeds, this is purely about improvement of running.
“It does really benefit me from a physiological point of view to be able to step away and work on this and then come back to triathlon with a higher LT1 (first lactate or aerobic threshold).
“If I have a bad day, I can run at that speed and if I have a good day then I can run as close as possible to my LT2 (second lactate or anaerobic threshold) and hopefully run as close to 28 minutes off the bike in the future. I think that’s exciting for me. I keep pushing at trying to get better and this is the avenue we’re now looking at.”
British superstar still learning all the time
And Yee also believes that challenging himself in different ways will see him continue to grow as an athlete.
He explained: “Quite often, actually even into my Olympic block, I’ve ‘failed’ quite a few sessions in terms of not hitting the outcomes I want. But I think for me, one of my strengths I’ve found is being able to take that step back and appreciate and acknowledge and learn from those things.
“Because if things go to plan in a block, that’s when I start to get a little bit worried. Because that’s when you don’t learn. You don’t progress, you don’t evolve in yourself.
“Sure, you can make some small physiological benefits, but you learn the most when things aren’t going to plan.
“You learn so much more about your character, about who you are and how you can develop. I think that’s always been something which I found important is to frame maybe not failure, but ‘not success’ as not a bad thing, because that’s when you’re doing your most growth.”
Time and again over the last couple of seasons Yee has responded brilliantly to adversity. He was on the back foot when he slipped at the swim start before winning WTCS Cagliari for example – and most famously he conjured up those hidden reserves when it mattered most to win Olympic gold.
He feels that in the marathon the biggest test and challenge with be in the last five or six miles – something he goes into more detail about here.
Eyes already on 2026
In the same interview, Yee also underlined that he will be returning to triathlon later in the season – and will be ready to make a flying start to 2026 when the next Olympic cycle to LA2028 starts to ramp up.
He rounded off the interview by saying: “I haven’t really planned in my triathlon races for this year, but I will be doing probably two to three at the kind of top level of our sport, which for us is the World Series.
READ MORE: What is a good 10k time?
“To be in contention for the World Series you need to do a minimum of four races plus the Grand Final so I will be doing a little bit less than I would do normally in a triathlon year.
“But the whole idea of this year is to push on run physiology, maybe do a few more run races after the London Marathon, I’m not too sure.
“Then end the season a little bit earlier than normal and then have a really big build into 2026 to be able to hit the ground running and be in a good spot in triathlon to then make a push for the next three years to see how far that can take me and see how much development I’m able to do.”
