Alex Yee from England wins first gold medal of 2022 Commonwealth Games

One by one Alex Yee caught them all. Dying in the water, resurrected on his bike and a demon of speed in his shoes, he broke their escape and then broke their minds.

By the time he was level with the last of the damned, Hayden Wilde, his great rival and close friend, knew the game was over, so all he could do was smile and pat on the back as Yee walked past.

With this, the 24-year-old from Lewisham gave England their first gold of these Games and a reminder, if necessary, that the Brownlees have their successor here and beyond.

There will be some who question the value of prizes on this podium, but not those who know triathlon, and certainly not those who know Wilde. There are always cheaper medals to be found at the Commonwealth Games, but the New Zealander is not an easy one – he is the world No. 2 and he took bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.

But he lost silver to Yee in Japan and was beaten to gold by him in this park just north of Birmingham. And what a race it was, only fractionally ruined by Wilde’s realization on the 5km run that he would have to serve a 10-second penalty for loosening his helmet too early in the second transition. But even then, he knew it was going to be academic — Yee was going to get it anyway.

That of being 15 seconds behind after the 750m swim and the same after the 20km cycle, timings where Yee came out of the water in 16th and only entered the run in fifth. It’s important to realize at this stage that Wilde is a seriously good distance runner – his best on a track is 13:29 and he even flirted with the idea of ​​qualifying for the athletics portion of the Games.

But Yee is just a little faster – fast enough to be an international runner himself and the best on the road at his sport. And so he brought the race back to him, and then he took it from them, eventually passing Wilde in the last kilometer and dropping to the ground after 50 minutes and 34 seconds. It was then that he called it his best achievement, surpassing his Olympic silver medal and the gold he won in the team event.

“This is a home race and it’s the first time in a long time that I can race in front of my parents,” he said. “I’d probably say this is my best moment ever.

“I don’t think there will be a chance in my life to do this again. This year has been my main goal. There is a world title up for grabs, but for me I have really localized this.”

While Wilde formally protested his 10-second penalty, Yee wasn’t worried — even without that help, he had three seconds on the Kiwi. When it was done, they hugged, which probably fits what they call the “Friendly Games.”

“We’re good friends on and off the track, so it’s really special to share moments like that with people,” Yee said.

“When we spoke towards the end, we just said well done to each other. I said, “I’m sorry you got a penalty, mate”, because everyone wants to see a sprint finish, everyone wants to see an exciting race. But there will be many more battles along the way.”

Together, their rivalry is said to be one of the most compelling in triathlon in recent years, layered by the fact that a crash caused by Wilde earlier this year resulted in one of Yee’s heroes, Jonny Brownlee, missing the Games here with an injury. A training partner to both Jonny and retired double Olympic gold medalist Alistair, Yee achieved a measure of revenge, not that he’s the kind to see it that way.

Four hours later, Georgia Taylor-Brown, who won individual silver and team gold with Yee and Jonny Brownlee in Tokyo, was again second in the women’s triathlon. The 28-year-old led the swim and bike race with Olympic champion Flora Duffy of Bermuda, but withered on the run.

She said, ‘I just didn’t have the legs today. I felt flat all day so I’m extra happy with the silver. I find it a bit boring to keep coming second to Flora, so we have to change that.’