Meet Alex Yee: Triathlete hoping to continue British dominance at Paris 2024 Olympics

5 months ago 70

ALEX YEE was the first male athlete selected to represent Team GB at the 2024 Olympics.

As he prepares to compete in the much anticipated triathlon games of Paris 2024 Olympics, we take a look at what we know about the young athlete so far.

epa09365696 Silver medalist Alex Yee of Great Britain during the medal ceremony for the Men's Triathlon race of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Odaiba Marine Park in Tokyo, Japan, 26 July 2021. EPA/WU HONGAlex Yee won silver for the Men’s Triathlon race of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
 Photo by Ryan Browne/Shutterstock (13048540ea) Alex Yee of England during the mens triathalon. Commonwealth Games 2022, Day Two, Birmingham, UK - 29 Jul 2022Alex Yee during the men’s triathlon Commonwealth Games 2022REX

Who is Alex Yee?

Born February 1998, Alex Yee is a British triathlete and distance runner.

Alex grew up in Lewisham, London and studied Sport and Exercise Science at Leeds Beckett University.

At just 19-years-old and a week before sitting his A-levels, Alex Yee competed in his first World Cup race in Cagliari in Sardinia, Italy.

In a high-speed race Alex came off his bike and collided with a concrete bollard and suffered broken ribs, vertebrae and a collapsed lung following the event.

Unperturbed by the accident, the South London star recovered and continued to push for Olympic success.

The first-ever Olympic triathlon mixed relay saw Alex Yee win a sensational gold medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

The 26-year-old also featured in the gold medal-winning relay team in the World Triathlon Mixed Relay Championships in Nottingham in 2019.

He won silver in the same event in Montreal, securing Great Britain its first quota, and his place on the start line in the 2024 Summer Olympics.

What sport will Alex Yee be competing in at the Paris 2024 Olympics?

The double Olympic medallist Alex Yee will be representing Team GB alongside Beth Potter, Georgia Taylor-Brown, Sam Dickinson and Kate Waugh in the Olympic triathlon.

The Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympic Games will be France’s biggest-ever sporting event.

The Olympic Games will take place from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with the Olympic triathlon course in the heart of Paris at Pont Alexandre III.

This summer will see three days of triathlon at the Olympics.

Relishing the prospect of racing in the City of Light, Alex said:

“It’s such an iconic venue that we’re racing at and we’re so lucky to be able to swim in the Seine and ride up the Champs-Elysees, which I’ve grown up dreaming about racing.”

 Alex Yee of Great Britain reacts as he finishes first on Pont Alexandre III in front of Les Invalides during the Men World Triathlon Championship Series on August 18, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)Alex has been selected to represent GB to make up the quartet triathlon squadGETTY

“To actually be able to do it is really special.”

As Alex prepares for the Paris 2024 Olympic games to begin, he has every faith in his team:

“It’s special to be able to race with your teammates because even though people think it’s a very individual sport, we train and work so hard together, so it’s nice to be able to share that experience

Alex YeeTeamGB

“Tokyo was received so well, almost better than the individuals, so it was really special to be a part of and it helps when there is some Team GB success.

“Our strength lies with our female athletes and we have such a plethora of them that we’re in a strong position.

“I think it’ll be one of the blue-ribbon events of the Olympics and hopefully we can be a part of that.”

Great Britain's triathlon athlete Alex Yee runs with the Arc de Triomphe in the background during the men's 2023 World Triathlon Olympic Games Test Event in Paris, on August 18, 2023. From August 17 to 20, 2023, Paris 2024 is organising four triathlon events to test several arrangements, such as the sports operations, one year before the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The swim familiarisation event follows the cancellation on August 6 of the pre-Olympics test swimming competition due to excessive pollution which forced organisers to cancel the pre-Olympics event. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / POOL / AFP) (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)Great Britain’s triathlon athlete Alex Yee runs with the Arc de Triomphe in the background during the men’s 2023 World Triathlon Olympic Games Test Event in ParisGETTY
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