Team GB were a whisker away from defending their Mixed Relay crown at the Olympics on Monday – and were then ‘downgraded’ from silver to bronze – but there was rightly nothing but pride at their efforts.
A dramatic race was turned on its head in the first of four swim / bike / run legs when favourites France saw their medal hopes dealt a massive blow after Pierre Le Corre couldn’t avoid New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde after he crashed on the bike.
All of which left Team GB in pole position for much of the race – but world champions Germany were never far away and then the remarkable Taylor Knibb hauled the USA into contention on the last leg.
Knibb clocked both the fastest swim and quickest bike (by fully 11 seconds) as it became a three-way battle for glory which was won by Laura Lindemann and Germany as a photo finish finally determined that Knibb and the United States had pipped Beth Potter and Great Britain for silver after the reigning champions were initially declared the runners up.
‘Heroic’ efforts
Referencing the photo finish, Alex Yee – who had led off Team GB – said: “There was initially a bit of confusion, but I guess they just hadn’t fully seen the photo finish yet. Of course, we’re going to be biased. We’d love the silver medal, but we are immensely proud of getting that bronze medal.
“The efforts that Beth put in that last leg were pretty heroic. It was an amazing day overall for us.”
Yee of course won individual men’s gold with his epic late surge to overhaul Wilde and for a moment it looked like Potter was going to repeat the trick on the anchor leg.
And she said: “The run leg was tough, I think I was a bit tired from the bike. I got a bit detached in the first leg, but managed to get myself back into the mix, and then was just all in for the last 200 metres.”
Of that dramatic final charge from Potter, Georgia Taylor-Brown – who led for nearly all of leg two – said: “We’re super, super, super proud of each other, and we all put together the best performances we possibly could. Beth definitely emptied herself at the end to get back on to those two.”
‘I came here and delivered’
Sam Dickinson also came in for huge praise after his leg three performance, making the most of his chance after winning a tight qualification battle with Jonny Brownlee for the final GB spot.
He had the quickest run on his leg (4:58 for the 1.8km) and was just two seconds off the fastest overall time as he handed over in the lead.
He had been the travelling reserve in Tokyo and he explained: “It’s much better racing than watching it from your hotel. It’s always been a massive goal for me after Tokyo.
That experience shaped me as an athlete, as a person, just to be ready for today.
“The third leg of a relay is my job, and that’s what I came here and delivered so I’m really happy with that.”
Lasting legacy
But the final word went to Yee who underlined the fact that this is now the fourth Olympics in a row that GB have won both multiple medals and one gold each time, starting with Alistair Brownlee back in 2012.
Yee had been among the huge crowds as a 14-year-old that day in London and he said: “I’m proud to be part of this team, and continue on this legacy which has been going for the last four Games.
“The most rewarding thing for me is that hopefully we’ve inspired a new generation to take up our sport, and fall in love with the Olympics like we all did when we were younger. That’s really special.”
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