Alex Yee opens up on parkrun with Grandad, that Wilde celebration and taking triathlon mainstream

Alex Yee is now a mainstream crossover star after that incredible Olympics triathlon victory at Paris 2024.

The brilliant 26-year-old British prodigy claimed gold in the capital after that stupendous final surge which saw him catch and pass long-time leader Hayden Wilde in the shadow of the finish line.

It was a spectacular sporting moment, one which was (just about) captured on TV and sent around the world as swim/bike/run conjured up one of THE enduring memories of a fantastic Games.

Since then Alex has not surprisingly been in high demand for interviews, and this week he spoke to The Daily Mail about a number of topics both on and off track.

One of them was about an endeavour which helps so many people living in Britain get in touch with regular exercise – parkrun.

Yee apparently holds the third fastest time in parkrun history – remember his run ability might be the most lethal weapon in short-course triathlon these days.

parkrunning with Grandad

Alex’s most recent appearance at the Saturday morning phenomenon was a little more sedate though – as he teamed up with a very important relative for the 5k trip.

Yee explained: “The last one I did took me over an hour because I did it with my grandad Albert on his 90th birthday! He’s 92 and now running under 50 minutes for a 5k, which is pretty incredible. He is more of a legend in parkrun than I am!”

Alex has quite rightly received huge recognition for his victory in Paris – it quite simply captured the imagination of an entire nation. United in willing him to that spectacular golden moment. Since returning from France he says the response from the public has been even more incredible.

“I am feeling the love and appreciation for what I achieved,” he revealed.

“I’ve been getting pictures of children watching my race and running round their living room, trying to imitate what I’m doing. That is really special and makes me really proud.”

THAT celebration

Major sport often provides controversy in the most unexpected ways, and that arrived for Alex when he followed up his Olympic success by beating great rival Wilde in another great finish in the first supertri race of the 2024 season in Boston.

As he took the tape, Yee produced a celebration that he says was copied from footballers Cole Palmer and Kylian Mbappe, and in some quarters he received criticism for it. Probably because of the way it apparently conflicted with that heartwarming moment he and Hayden had shared on the blue carpet in Paris.

Alex though says there was zero malice intended, and that he spoke to Wilde afterwards to make sure his rival was not offended.

“I think it was probably a bit more Cole Palmer than Kylian Mbappe. But it was not planned. It was just in the heat of the moment. Obviously, I’m sorry to Hayden. I didn’t realise it upset him that much. We spoke to each other straight after and I just said, ‘Are we good, is everything all right?’, and he said, ‘Yeah’, so hopefully that’s nipped in the bud.”

Making triathlon bigger

Yee believes that celebration on course is no bad thing for another reason – it allows athletes to express themselves and is another opportunity to excite fans and create new narratives.

“Triathlon is my way of expressing myself. It’s good to show personality because otherwise all people see is a two-minute interview after a race and don’t see any expression from us.

“I don’t think that will become my trademark celebration. There are too many famous people who have got that celebration already – and they are much more famous than me! But I think anything that is going to excite people and get people talking about triathlon is not a bad thing.”