Reigning Olympic triathlon champion Alex Yee has expressed his support for short-course rival Hayden Wilde following the New Zealander’s bike crash in Japan last week.
Wilde was hospitalised with multiple injuries just a day after smashing his 10k personal best at the ASICS Tokyo Speed Race, suffering broken ribs, a broken clavicle and an injured lung. The injuries will keep him out of action for the foreseeable future.
Yee, who bested Wilde at numerous races last season, notably in that epic battle at the Paris Olympic Games, appeared on Breakfast with Bob Babbitt [view the full interview at the bottom of page] and had some heartfelt comments for his fierce rival.
Wilde bike crash
“My heart goes out to Hayden, it’s never nice to hear, especially after he had runs such an incredible 10km the day before. I was blown away by seeing that then unfortunately for that to happen – I sent him a message, and he seems in good spirits which is the main thing, so pleased for him in that sense,” Yee said.
The Brit then discussed his previous experience recovering from a bike crash. At age 19, Yee was competing at the ITU Triathlon World Cup in Cagliari, Italy when he suffered a high-speed crash that collapsed his lung, broke five ribs and four vertebrae after hitting a bollard.
He admitted on a Youtube video prior to his London Marathon attempt that doctors told him if he had hit his head in the crash he “might not be here at all”.
“It’s definitely tough, it’s one of those things which gives you that clarity,” he explained as he remembered his accident, “particularly for me at the age of my crash – I was doing my A-Levels, my last year of high school, and that really gave me that clarity at the point because it was very easy for me to take a step away from triathlon and call it a day.
“It did the opposite, it gave me the clarity I wanted to be a triathlete. I wanted to push myself – there was really no plan B for me to make it. So in away, the crash was a bit of a blessing in disguise in the way that it gave me that impetus, it gave me an opportunity to work on things that I might not have had the chance to work on training 30-35 hours a week.
“Alistair [Brownlee] ironically framed it very well, each year you invest now will add on at the end of your career. I really think that paid dividends and I think Hayden can do the same – he’s at an incredible stage in his career, but there is always opportunities to improve and he can look elsewhere and do that now.”
Now 27, Yee has returned to Sardinia and Cagliari for four races, winning on three occasions, and he suggests the crash eight years ago has given him a connection to the Italian island.
“I feel it gave me an edge, especially when I went to Cagliari. I’ve been lucky to go back there four times and win three times, pretty incredible for me as an experience and to feel that connection to the island itself is pretty special. I believe it allows you to stand on the start line with a new perspective – that there is more things important that triathlon.
“It has allowed me to get where I am today – every day I am able to step outside highly fortunate because it was almost taken away from me.”
Yee v Wilde is good for the sport
Wishing his rival well, Yee went on to discuss his relationship with Wilde and how the New Zealander’s presence in the sport has evidently allowed him to reach heights he wasn’t sure were possible.
“I think Hayden and I have probably an appreciation which I guess only us two would understand because of the lengths we probably push each other to on so many different occasions – to beat that man is an incredibly hard task.
“He is so incredible at the sport that I can only have appreciation for that – and I definitely feel I am able to go racing to a new level which I have never been able to in training – that’s thanks to him, that’s thanks to Leo [Bergere] and to other guys for pushing me to the limit of what I am able to achieve and beyond that.
“It’s a hard one to describe, it’s an appreciation. Of course we want to beat each other, of course we push each other to the limit, but at the same time there is such an appreciation there for that person.
“It allows people to be excited about the sport as well, I know personally for me and for Hayden we want to excite people, we want to people to turn on the TV to watch triathlon – it’s great we are able to do that.
