The sprint event seemed destined for a race to the finish, but that was denied when Wilde was handed a 10-second penalty for a helmet violation in the transition from bike to run.
Whether Yee, the better runner of the two, would have won a sprint to the line was a moot point, but the Olympic silver medalist had managed to reclaim the 16-second advantage of pre-event fellow favorite Wilde in the run. of the 5 km run.
And in any case, the 24-year-old Londoner said he would have been confident to win a sprint finish. He said, ‘We’ll never know. Maybe we’ll see in a race in the future, but I’m always behind myself on the runs. ”
Yee and Wilde were in class this year in the World Triathlon Series with two wins each, including the New Zealander’s controversial win in Leeds in June.
Wilde admitted his mistake and apologized for causing a cycling accident in which both Yee and Jonny Brownlee fell, causing Brownlee to miss Birmingham 2022 with a broken elbow.
Triumphant: Alex Yee praised his Commonwealth Games victory as his greatest achievement to date
/ REUTERSThe penalty for Wilde looked tough, but he was graceful enough to congratulate rival Yee before taking the stand for his 10-second penalty at the end.
Yee has never been the strongest swimmer and after the first 750m leg, he was 16 seconds behind a leading trio of Wilde, fellow Kiwi Tayler Reid and South African Jamie Riddle.
That lasted a whopping 21 seconds, but was reduced to just 16 by the time the bike turned into run. Yee insisted he still believed gold was possible. “I never gave up,” he said. “I knew this course is tough, the hill can kill you every time. So for me I knew if I could push that hill there was a chance I would catch it.”
With Yee and Wilde evenly matched for their 5km personal bests, it seemed like an impossible mission, but backed by the home crowd, he somehow overtook Wilde.
Commonwealth Games 2022: Opening Ceremony
By the end of the first 2.5km lap of the run, the lead had shrunk to seven seconds, after which Yee looked up at the big screen to see what he initially thought was a penalty on his name. He later realized it was for Wilde, which allowed him to reduce his pace marginally, but he still caught the Kiwi within the last kilometer.
Afterwards, Yee paid tribute to his England team-mates for helping him keep the chase on the bike, saying: “It’s bizarre that I’m doing this. I feel very proud today. I am super proud to be the winner of this great event. I would say this is my greatest achievement ever.
‘It’s a bit of a fairytale, isn’t it? I’ve worked hard for this. This is special because I get to share it with so many people. It’s home, it’s the first race of the Games, this is totally unique and I don’t think there will be a chance in my life to do this again. ”