When Alex Yee won a gold medal in the men’s triathlon at the Paris Olympics today, his hometown of Lewisham erupted with joy.
Yee, 26, also champions the south-east London borough that raised him like a badge of honour, with his Instagram bio reading: “Lewisham to the world.”
In a remarkable result, he overtook New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde in the closing stages of a thrilling race to claim a last-gasp victory.
The down-to-earth athlete finished in one hour, 43 minutes and 33 seconds to secure Team GB’s fifth gold at the Games in the French capital, but says he remains a normal guy.
It’s an incredible feat that carries even more weight for Yee, following a horrific accident in 2017 that left him with broken ribs and vertebrae and a collapsed lung, putting the future of his athletic career in doubt.
Alex Yee, pictured with girlfriend Olivia Mathias after being awarded an MBE in 2022, won gold in Paris on Monday, prompting locals in his hometown to dub him the “pride of Lewisham”.
Growing up, Yee spent his free time at the Kent Athletics Club, honing the skills that would take him to dizzying heights.
As a junior, he challenged Prince Harry with his athletic talents, outpacing Mo Farah in a 5km race and running the second fastest Parkrun of all time in 13 minutes 57 seconds in 2018.
The 26-year-old then began transitioning to swimming, cycling and running, after being crowned ITU Junior Duathlon World Champion, according to Team GB.
But a crash at a Triathlon World Cup event in 2017 threatened to rob him of his star status before he had a chance to truly claim it.
The 19-year-old, who was due to sit his A-Levels exam days later, suffered fractured ribs, vertebrae and a collapsed lung following a high-speed cycling accident during the event in Caligari, Italy.
At that time, the BBC A statement from British Triathlon said Yee briefly lost consciousness after the accident.
“Alex is receiving a very high level of care and is expected to be able to return home in the coming days,” the statement said.
Recalling the aftermath of the accident, Yee said on the National Lottery podcast series: The amazing thing starts here‘It made me realize that the most important thing in life is to live.’
‘Triathlon and A-levels consumed my life. I was very surprised that I couldn’t go home to do the exams, because that was all I had achieved, I had worked for it for two years and sport had been the most important thing in my life from 2012 onwards.
The athlete, who has an incredible career despite a terrible accident in 2017 that left him with broken ribs and a collapsed lung, owes his success in part to the support received from his family (pictured)
Alex is pictured with his gold medal after the men’s individual triathlon on the Pont Alexandre III on day five of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in France.
He was someone to watch from the start and in 2013, Prince Harry greeted him after a race.
“For me, it was the beginning of realizing that there is more to life and that there are more important things. It gave me the perspective to want to try triathlon.”
Yee was not discouraged by the severity of the accident and a year later he returned to the scene of the accident to take part in the 2018 Cagliari World Championship, where he finished in eighth position.
That same year, she raced her first Olympic-distance triathlon at the U23 World Championships in Queensland before taking her first World Cup win in Cape Town.
His successes led Yee to his first Olympic Games in 2021 in Tokyo, where he took silver in the men’s triathlon.
On a stunning morning in Tokyo, the then 23-year-old swam, cycled and ran his way to Britain’s first gold medal of these Olympics, only to see a burly Norwegian in his rear-view mirror.
He took silver with a race time of 1 hour, 45 minutes and four seconds, losing first place to Kristian Blummenfelt.
Today, the 26-year-old overtook New Zealander Hayden Wilde in the final stages of the thrilling race.
The down-to-earth athlete admitted on Instagram that he initially thought his MBE invitation was a joke.
Yee finished second to take the silver medal in the Men’s Triathlon at Odaiba Marine Park on day three of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan (pictured)
“I didn’t want to give myself the opportunity to think about being an Olympic champion, I just wanted to treat it like any other race, so I wouldn’t feel overwhelmed. I don’t regret anything,” Yee recalled in conversation with triathlon.
The humble athlete attributed his success in Tokyo to his parents, saying: “I have been lucky to have firm but fair and loving parents who have taught me good values and brought me up well. They never put pressure on me but let me do things because I wanted to.”
His professional achievements led to him being made a Member of the British Empire in 2022, despite initially believing the invitation to be a joke.
Yee wrote on Instagram at the time: “When I first got the email I genuinely thought it was a joke so going to Buckingham Palace yesterday felt very surreal.”
And today she secured another career victory by winning triathlon gold for the British team at the Paris Olympics.
Yee was 14 seconds behind Wilde at the start of the final 2km of the race, but he caught Wilde and overtook the New Zealander, who crossed the line six seconds behind the Briton. The bronze medal went to Frenchman Leo Bergere.
“At 5km I was going through a bad patch and 2.5km from the finish I thought I was going to give it one last chance and not give up, and here we are,” Yee told the BBC after the win.
“Anything can happen. I’m still that normal guy, I work hard at my sport and I love what I do. For me it’s amazing to be able to be in this position and these guys have worked so hard for me.
‘They came and lined the streets, and they all gave me a push today to get to Hayden.
“I appreciate him for giving me that push and really getting everything out of my body.”
Yee emulated Alistair Brownlee as Britain’s second Olympic triathlon champion, and did so in impressive fashion on the streets of Paris.
With less than a kilometre to go before the 10km finish, it looked like Yee would once again take the silver medal, although at one point he was challenged by Bergere.
But Yee put the pedal to the metal and sprinted to make her Olympic dream come true in one of the sport’s most memorable comebacks.
Following the win, the 26-year-old received an outpouring of support from Lewisham residents.
London fans hailed the Olympic gold medal winner as the “pride of Lewisham” and a “Lewisham local legend”.
Meanwhile, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “Congratulations to Alex Yee from Lewisham on his phenomenal performance to win the triathlon. Another Olympic gold for #TeamGB! #Paris2024.”
