Alex Yee has acknowledged the difficulties he’s faced in adapting to life as an Olympic champion and competing at the top level since his Paris 2024 triumph.
The Londoner realized a lifelong dream when he won gold in Paris after a fierce competition with his main rival, Hayden Wilde. A few weeks later, Yee also bested Wilde in the opening supertri race in Boston.
However, Yee has struggled in his subsequent races, finishing poorly in Chicago and then again in front of a large home crowd in London. Wilde won both of those events, but Yee remained the focal point at Canary Wharf and spoke to supertri’s Adam Leitch afterwards.
When asked if some downtime before the next race in Toulouse would be beneficial, Yee said: “I’m mentally tired. I can’t lie. I’m enjoying what I’m doing, but, yeah, I’m just trying to give back to everyone and then also try and race my best and it’s been tough.
“I’m just going to do my best to just keep enjoying the sport, keep showing up every day, enjoy training, enjoy the simple things.
“Even little things like watching my girlfriend Liv race today [Olivia Mathias brilliantly animated the women’s race] are rewarding.”
Yee had been prominent in the first of three consecutive triathlons in London but lost ground afterward. Nevertheless, he took time to high-five and thank as many fans as possible during his final run, adding: “Today was never about me racing. It was about me coming and appreciating everyone that came out here – racing well would have been a bonus.
“In the first triathlon, I felt good, and then the second run lap, I just started to have some heart irregularities, I think. And then I just struggled a little bit. But that’s racing. And kudos to the guys [up front], they raced amazingly well. For us to be able to put on a show – well mainly those guys at the front – was exciting.
“And if I could play a small part of that in the first race, then I’m grateful.”
