British triathlon star Sam Dickinson given major award for putting team ahead of himself at Paris Olympics

Sam Dickinson‘s selfless and superb performances at the Olympics have been recognised with a major award.

The Briton sacrificed his own race in the individual event to help team-mate Alex Yee to gold – and then played an integral part in powering the Mixed Relay team to a thrilling bronze medal.

And this week when the Team GB Olympic and Paralympic high-performance community came together to celebrate the incredible success in Paris at the PLx Awards, Dickinson was given the ‘Spirit of high-performance sport’ award.

That “recognises a sport, member of staff, athlete or team that has risen to a challenge and done so in a way that embodies, what you interpret to be ‘the spirit of high-performance.”

‘Tough ask’

The awards were hosted by UK Sport Chair Dame Katherine Grainger and the tribute to Dickinson read as follows: “Sam went to the Paris Olympics as a relay specialist and supported Alex Yee in winning an individual gold medal.

“He was directed to ride for Alex in the individual race, tracking any attacks and threats from other riders. He was asked not to finish the individual race as it might hamper his ability to perform in the relay. It was tough to ask him to put the team ahead of himself in a very public way, which is exactly what Sam did.  He recorded a DNF, having stepped out a short way into the 10k run.

“This epitomises the ‘team before self’ mantra, which is critical in team events in high-performance sports. Sam then became part of the incredible bronze medal-winning mixed triathlon team.”

Dream come true

It echoed his performance at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham when Yee called Dickinson “a hero” after he helped him to individual gold before combining for Mixed Team Relay success.

After receiving the award, Sam said: “The Olympics is a dream for many people, and for most, it remains a dream. But for me, it came true.

“It was a super tough decision to take, but I will say two things: Alex is a high-calibre athlete. And even better than that, he’s a top lad too. And I would do it every other week and twice on Sundays for him. 

“It was just one task at a time, and I needed to show the team that I was all in for the relay. Being part of the relay team was amazing because it was a team of world-class athletes and me. It was just amazing to be able to contribute in that way.

“There are many people beyond the athletes we see on that relay team, but I get to be at the heart of it, which is a privileged position.”

And the same Team GB display was hailed earlier this week by none other than Olav Aleksander Bu, the Norwegian coach who guided Kristian Blummenfelt to the gold medal at the previous Olympics in Tokyo.

He told TRI247: “Alex’s win was so well deserved with all the effort, with all the work that they did there – and with the tactics, with teamwork becoming increasingly important.”