Alex Yee (Great Britain) and Cassandre Beaugrand (France) overcame heat, humidity, and rain-slickened streets to become the triathlon individuals Olympics 2024 winners in the men’s and women’s categories, respectively.
The athletes cycled and sprinted past beautiful sceneries, such as the Grand Palais, along the Champs Élysées, the Arc de Triomphe, the parliament building, and the Musée d’Orsay.
At one point, the event’s fate was perilous because of concerns over pollution levels in the Seine River. The heavy rain just before the event caused a spike in E.Coli bacteria in the river, making it unsafe for the athletes. Consequently, the men’s triathlon was postponed by a day.
Men’s Triathlon Individuals Olympics 2024 Winners
- Gold: Alex Yee (Great Britain)
- Silver: Hayden Wilde (New Zealand)
- Bronze: Leo Bergere (France)
Great Britain’s Alex Yee won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics. It looked like the 26-year-old would finish second in this race, too as he was trailing New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde. With 1.4km to go, Yee was 12 seconds behind the Kiwi. However, the crowds along the Champs Elysees cheered him on and gave him a boost. He gained momentum at the very end to finish just six seconds ahead of Wilde.
“At 5km in the run, I was going through a real bad patch. In my head, with the guys closing quite rapidly behind, maybe I thought second was the best thing for me. But I just didn’t want to give up on myself. I said with 3k to go I just want to give myself one more chance. I owed it to myself,” said Yee to the Daily Mail.
Yee completed the triathlon at 1:43:33. Wilde came second at 1:43:39, while France’s Leo Bergere crossed at 1:43:43.
Leo Bergere made history as he was the first French male triathlete to win a medal at the Olympics. The reigning triathlete world champion proved he has the mettle to compete at the Olympics stage and win.
The men’s Triathlon is the one to remember for another reason, as this year saw the participation of the youngest triathlete in the field, 20-year-old Ricardo Batista from Portugal. Despite all the challenges and being short on experience, Batista secured 6th place in the race. Another young player, 21-year-old Miguel Hidalgo, secured 10th place.
Great Britain’s men’s team now has six Olympic medals in triathlon. The Brownlee brothers had podium finishes in the 2012 and 2016 Games. Alex Yee won silver in the 2020 Games, and now a gold in the 2024 Games.
Before this, Yee won two gold medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. He chased down Hayden Wilde in the individual event to win by 13 seconds. He also won the mixed relay with teammates Sophie Coldwell, Sam Dickinson, and Georgia Taylor-Brown.
Women’s Triathlon Individuals Olympics 2024 Winners
- Gold: Cassandre Beaugrand (France)
- Silver: Julie Derron (Switzerland)
- Bronze: Beth Potter (Great Britain)
The women’s triathlon began from Pont Alexandre III bridge with a slight drizzle. After jumping into the Seine for a 1.5 km course, the athletes took their bicycles and rode for 25 miles through the streets of Paris and crossed the Champs-Elysees along the way.
Rain-slicken streets caused numerous crashes and wipeouts during the cycling route. However, the skies were bright blue as the athletes approached the final 10km leg of the race.
France’s Cassandre Beaugrand gave another reason for the host nation to rejoice, along with Leo Bergere’s win. She won the gold medal, finishing the triathlon at 1:54:55. Switzerland’s Julie Derron won silver by completing the race at 1:55:01, just 6 seconds behind Beaugrand. Beth Potter of Great Britain finished third at 1:55:10.
This is the first medal for France in the women’s triathlon. Switzerland’s women’s team has a long history of success in the event. This was their fifth medal in seven Olympics. Potter’s win took Great Britain medal’s historic medal tally in this event to three.
Team USA had a streak of two consecutive Olympic medals in women’s triathlon. However, the streak was broken in this event, as Taylor Spivey came 10th, Taylor Knibb finished 19th and Kirsten Kasper came 49th.
All Eyes on the Mixed Relay
With the triathlon individuals Olympics 2024 events over, all eyes are now on the mixed relay set for 5th August. The mixed relay triathlon has a shorter course with a 300m swim, a 6.8km cycling race, and a 2km run. The relay progresses in female-male-female-male succession.
Stay tuned to know all about the Mixed Relay and more such updates on the Paris Olympics 2024.
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