Olympic Games Triathlon: Alex Yee ready to find “flow state” on day of destiny

Alex Yee could hardly have portrayed a more positive mindset when he spoke to the media this week ahead of the start of the Olympics.

The build to the Games appears to have gone perfectly and he also says he feels like a much more rounded athlete compared to Tokyo – where he won individual silver and relay gold.

Yee is the bookmakers’ favourite for men’s gold this time, ahead of his great rival Hayden Wilde.

Kristian Blummenfelt, the man who beat them both to gold in Tokyo, and a strong French trio come next but for Yee it’s all about his own preparation as he looks to repeat last year’s dominant victory in the Paris Test Event.

Carbon copy, same result?

He’s unbeaten this year and speaking from the Team GB triathlon holding camp in Libourne, Yee told TRI247 and the assembled media: “We’ve been doing a lot of preparation in the river here which has a very similar current to the Seine and I feel I can really use that to my advantage now.

“Everything is very similar to last year. I’ve done pretty much a carbon copy of the run in to the Test event and I’m really looking forward to the weeks to come.”

In terms of the race dynamics, he’s confident that concerns over the water quality in the Seine won’t force a switch to a duathlon, saying: “I think it’s going to be a triathlon for sure.

“I think the most important thing for this race, in particular with Paris, is that they are making a proactive difference to try and clean up the water and leave a legacy behind.

“I expect the race to be full on from the gun – I think the current’s going to play a massive part within the race itself. It’s probably something that people can’t see from the surface – just how strong it is under the water and how much of a difference that is going to make.

So I think that’s going to be super important and people are going to make the race hard as some won’t want to leave it to a run race, though some will.

“I’ll do my very best to be at the front of the race and just be competitive all the way through and if I can do that, then I can do a race that I can be proud of.”

Legacy lives on

Comparing himself to the athlete who raced his first Olympics in Tokyo, he said: “I do feel like I have matured a lot since then and I’m really excited to show that.”

Yee was inspired as a youngster by watching the Brownlees at London 2012 and he and Jonny were then part of the successful Mixed Relay quartet in Tokyo.

And referencing that he added: “I definitely feel a responsibility now. I guess Jonny’s not here in Paris sadly but Sam [Dickinson] has obviously stepped up and done an amazing job to qualify for the team. We’ve got to keep that legacy living on – we’ve got such a rich heritage within British triathlon and I’d love to keep that going.

“For me, having watched the Olympic Games and then been able to race in an Olympic team with some of those guys – I really hope that I can do a similar thing with somebody in a few years time. I think that’s how the cycle goes.”

Yee also spoke about the importance of having booked his Paris spot almost a year out this time, in contrast to Tokyo.

He explained: “For me, it’s obviously very different to the last Olympic cycle of being selected probably four weeks out from the Games. It was a bit of a whirlwind which in a way played into my strengths at that time.

“But I feel the way I am now, I’m very thorough with my preparations and [qualifying early] has allowed me to do that.

“When I am able to prepare for a one day, one-race scenario, I feel like I really stand on the start line as the best-prepared athlete and the most confident because I feel like I’ve experienced all the conditions that may be thrown at me.

“There have been times in a few Grand Finals where I haven’t felt like that. And that has shown weakness in my racing. So I feel like this gives me the best chance to give myself the best shot to do my best race.”

Finding that ‘flow state’

And while there’s much talk about his rivalry with Wilde or the threat posed by Blummenfelt – whom Yee described as “superhuman” after Tokyo – only one thing matters to Yee.

He said: “For me, the sport has never been about winning. I think it’s always been about being the best person I can be.

“Because I think with winning, you can achieve something and then motivation can sort of dwindle.

“For me, I still feel like I have so much to give within myself – mentally, physically, things I can do within my lifestyle that can make me better and the best athlete I can be. So for me, that is the thing that motivates me. That’s what kind of gets me out of bed.

“People always say you need to have this kind of aggression when racing, this fight within you. But for me, with racing I always feel like things slow down and I have this kind of flow state where I’m able to just make clarity of the situation.

“Things just happen so slowly that I feel like all the preparation I have been doing allows me to be in that state and deliver the races which I really want to deliver.

“I just love to execute the best race I can. And I feel more prepared for this one. I hate saying too much but I’m really looking forward to just standing on the start line and giving it a real good go.”

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