It has been an incredible 2024 so far for Alex Yee, but Britain’s Olympic triathlon champion is not resting on his laurels.
On Sunday in Torremolinos-Andalucia, the 26-year-old Londoner will bid to add a first world title to the Olympic crown he claimed so spectacularly in Paris on July 31.
But already thoughts are turning to 2025 and beyond as a new Olympic cycle begins towards L.A. 2028, and what the focus might be for an athlete who has already worked so far to become a truly all-round competitor.
Yee admitted earlier this week that he had spent the last two years working on his swim in readiness for Paris – working with biomechanists and open water specialists to improve what had been a perceived weakness in his arsenal.
That hard work paid off brilliantly in France, and it was there on show again recently in Weihai when he produced a faultless race to blitz his rivals by 46 seconds with an incredible all-round performance.
Alex, who admitted he felt mentally tired in the aftermath of Paris, will take some time to enjoy and reflect on his achievements once this weekend’s WTCS Grand Finals and then the supertri finale are completed. But then he will refocus for the cycle that will end in Los Angeles, and has already made one admission which could be very bad news for his rivals.
Alex Yee – run can get EVEN BETTER
Not only does he believe there is still a way to go in his search for perfection, he also believes that his greatest strength – that unbelievable run ability – can be made even more devastating.
Speaking in an interview with World Triathlon, he said: “I think I’m going to definitely just enjoy this period until the end of the year and then definitely refocus into find some purpose.
“I’m not sure what that would be yet, but I think for me to have purposes is so important and the thing which excites me and gets me out of bed is just being, being a better athlete, being a better person. And I think that comes from, from different, different motivations at different points. And who knows what that will be?
“I’m sure it will still involve swimming. I’m still chasing that perfect race where I’m able to swim, swim extremely well, ride strong, be a big force in the, in the ride and then just run, the way I’m capable of running, or how I believe I’m capable of running.
“And I still feel like there’s a way to go there. I still feel like I have a lot of potential within running that I can unlock. And I think that’s exciting and, and a cool place to be. And yeah, it’s still exciting me. I think the sport is still evolving so much that you’ve got to, you’ve got to be improving and you’ve got to be getting better every year, because the level
is just so amazing.”
‘Mental’ schedule after Paris
As Alex said, he has not yet been able to sit back and fully reflect on what he achieved on that famous day in the French capital – so arduous has been the schedule since. He admits though it’s a moment he may never fully process.
“I honestly don’t think I’ve afforded myself the luxury to, to pause, to be honest with the fact that we went on to supertri and, and I think we’re like seven weeks after and I’ve raced four times when I think about it like that, it’s just absolutely mental.
“And I definitely look back on that and probably reflect that I probably should have given myself a little bit more time to, to pause and appreciate and live in the moment and I still think that Paris is going to take a long time to process. And who knows if I’ll ever process something like that, because it’s just beyond my wildest dreams. If I showed my seven-year-old self what I’d have achieved, he would be, yeah, he’d be in shock, I think so.”
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