Olympic champion Alex Yee confirmed his place among the world’s elite athletes as he brushed aside his pre-race nerves to secure a stunning Supertri victory at the weekend.
The beaming Paris gold medalist admitted to having one or two doubts as he lined up in Toronto for his first taste of triathlon competition this season – but his concerns were to prove unfounded as he crossed the line in first place and then proclaimed “I’ve still got it!”.
Having spent the first half of this season preparing for, running in, and then recovering from the London Marathon, Yee was eager to get back to his more customary multi-sport discipline, with the hustle and bustle of the Supertri experience clearly whetting his appetite for more.
Yee tri return delayed by injury
Yee’s return to competitive action had been delayed after his epic marathon efforts had left him with peroneal tendinopathy – causing pain and inflammation of tendons in the foot and ankle – but his performance in Canada at the weekend once again showed just how much of a naturally talented athlete this 27-year-old truly is.
“It’s nice to be back in the fold. I enjoyed that. I wanted to do Supertri because it gave me three opportunities to do a tri and to learn from them. It was very fast. I loved every second of it – it was an amazing crowd at an amazing venue.
“I think, like everyone, when you do your first race of the season, you worry that you’ve lost it all, but I’ve still got it. It was a nice confidence boost as I was pushed to my limits today.
“So good to be back! Triathlon gives me purpose, and I will never take these moments for granted. Thanks to the guys, it was great to be back out with you!”
Competing for the Brownlee Racing team, the Supertri format in Toronto featured three rounds of racing, each consisting of a 300-meter swim, 4-kilometre bike, and 1.6-kilometre run, with six-minute breaks between rounds.
The Brownlee team enjoyed double success in Toronto with Supertri debutant Jolien Vermeylen also winning in the women’s race. However, Jonny Brownlee was eliminated from the event for falling into the bottom two on Stage 1 of the men’s event.
As for Yee, who finished 14th in the men’s elite race at the London Marathon in a time of 2:11:08, he is now expected to continue his preparations for the World Triathlon Championship Series in the French Riviera on August 31.
Despite picking up his injury during the marathon, Yee has no regrets about testing himself in a different sport, and believes it can help take his triathlon racing to a new level.
Marathon a challenge a real positive
Speaking before this weekend’s return in Toronto, he said: “There were things which I could probably get away with in triathlon that I couldn’t get away with in a marathon, which I can now apply to triathlon and hopefully that will make me a better athlete as a result.
“It was really interesting to take that small step back. You get so used to training in a certain way, so when you take yourself out of a comfort zone and train a little bit differently and you’re a little bit worse at it, it’s an exciting thing for me.
“I still feel like I have that energy towards the sport, and what’s exciting me right now is that internal drive to be the best I can be. I know that each year success is rented and you’ve got to earn that right to be back at the top.”
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