Triathlon star, Alex Yee, has had a quite fantastic 2024. The 26-year-old Londoner’s brilliance has long been recognised by those who follow triathlon. But he burst into the consciousness of sports fans more generally when he won a thrilling gold medal at the Paris Olympics in the summer. Since then, he’s also won his first-ever triathlon world title, landed the prestigious Sports Journalists’ Association Sportsman of the Year 2024, and has even made it to the shortlist of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024.
In this article, we’ll take a look back through the (mostly) highs of Yee’s amazing year and we’ll also take a look back at some of the athletes who’ve landed the BBC SPOTY prize in the past.
Alex Yee’s Brilliant Olympics
Unbe-YEE-vable!!
Alex Yee, Olympic triathlon champion! #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/RWwszDke2N
— Team GB (@TeamGB) July 31, 2024
Where else could we start other than with one of the best performances by a Brit at the Paris Olympics? Team GB have been no strangers to success in the triathlon at the Olympics since it was introduced to the Games in 2000 in Sydney. Prior to Yee’s 2024 success, Alistair Brownlee won the men’s event twice, in 2012 in London (with his brother Jonathan in third) and again in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro (this time with his sibling taking the silver medal).
Silver at Tokyo 2020
Yee wasn’t far away in Tokyo in 2020 either when he had to settle for silver as Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt won the day. He did get a gold at that Games, however, as part of the mixed relay, alongside Georgia Taylor-Brown (who won silver in the women’s event), Jonathan Brownlee and Jessica Learmonth.
Gold at Paris 2024
The Lewisham-born ace was determined to get his hands on a gold medal in the individual event in Paris, however. He went to the French capital in excellent form having won the World Triathlon Series event in Cagliari in May and the Europe Triathlon Cup in Kitzbuhel in June.
But conditions in Paris were far from ideal as high temperatures and humidity, plus excessive rainfall, combined to mean the quality of water in the River Seine had deteriorated to potentially dangerously poor levels. The race had to be delayed by a day and even then it took last-minute tests to give the go-ahead for the event, though the favourites wasted no time in attempting to get ahead.
How the Race Was Won
Yee did not exactly blast through the first swimming lap of 910m, and was 27 seconds off the leader Alessio Crociani of Italy as they made for their bikes after completing the second loop of 590m. Yee was at least ahead of reigning champ Blummenfelt (who was 50 seconds down on the leader) as well as another favourite, New Zealander Hayden Wilde (who was more than a minute down at that point).
As is often the way in triathlon, the balance of power shifted once the athletes were in the saddle, and – thankfully for the competitors – there was no repeat of the multiple crashes that had occurred in the women’s event (due to particularly wet and slippery conditions). With a front group of six riders setting the pace, it wasn’t long before Yee made his move and – along with Marten can Riel of Belgium – led a chase group that had caught the leaders by the end of the first of seven laps (of 5.7km each).
Wilde and Blummenfelt
It took a while for Yee’s main threats for gold, Wilde and Blummenfelt, to claw back the leading group, but they managed that by the end of the fourth lap. No one was able to break away from the leading pack though, with the humid conditions encouraging riders to conserve their energy for the run.
Came Ahead in Final Lap
Yee went out hard on the run after a decent transition and it looked like he might have opened up an unassailable lead. But Kiwi Wilde had other ideas and he got level with Yee by the end of the first of four laps of 2.5km. Against expectations, it was Wilde who then looked the brighter and ran clear of the Brit, opening up a 15-second gap by the end of the second lap. Yee looked broken and the frontrunner, in contrast, appeared to be relaxed and strong. But on the final lap, Yee – who was still a massive 14 seconds behind at the bell – proved why he’s such a fantastic athlete.
“Moment of the Games”
It can’t be easy to muster a sprint finish after such as arduous race, but with just a few hundred metres left, the British triathlete kicked past Wilde, who couldn’t find a response. Yee suddenly looked full of beans and he ran away from the Kiwi to win the gold medal by six seconds for a famous win. So dramatic was his style of victory that it was voted Team GB’s “Moment of the Games” by the watching public.
2024 World Triathlon Championship Series Triumph
As mentioned, Yee won a Championship Series event in Calgiari (beating Wilde into second then too), but was also victorious in Weihai. With events in Abu Dhabi and Montreal cancelled, Yee’s win at the Olympics (which also counted towards the Championship), meant he could win the world title without needing to win the Grand Final in Torremolinos.
As it turned out, Yee finished third, which was more than enough to claim the title. Wilde gained some consolation by winning the Grand Final, but he finished second in the overall standings, some 300+ points behind Yee. Oh, and the Lewisham lad also helped the Mixed Relay team to a bronze medal, just to cap things off. He was rewarded by being picked as one of the flag bearers for Team GB in the closing ceremony.
Could Yee Win SPOTY?
Yee has a fair chance of landing the prize, not least because athletes have traditionally done well in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year event. Indeed, prior to the 2024 event, more SPOTY winners have come from athletics (18) than any other sport. The next best is – astoundingly – Formula 1 (eight), followed by the more traditionally sporty sports of football and tennis (seven each), and cricket, boxing and cycling (with five each).
The last athlete to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award was Mo Farah in 2017. Other notable winners from the world of athletics include Mary Peters, Brendan Foster, Daley Thompson, Steve Ovett, Sebastian Coe, Steve Cram, Fatima Whitbread, Linford Christie, and Paula Radcliffe. The closest a triathlete has come was Alistair Brownlee’s runners-up place in 2016. He lost out to Andy Murray who had just had his best year ever, winning the Olympics and Wimbledon.