alex yee

Image provided by PA/Alamy.

Yee wins dramatic triathlon gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games

Alex Yee produced a stunning performance in the men’s triathlon to win gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games – Loughborough’s first medal of the competition.

In a dramatic race across rural Birmingham ending in Sutton Park, Yee chased down New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde in a phenomenal running leg to take the victory in front of an exuberant home crowd.

The Olympic gold and silver medallist – who trains at the University – showed great maturity to chase down Wilde who also received a 10-second penalty for not storing his cycling helmet away properly in the transition.

Needing to make up 15 seconds, Yee showed pure class, eclipsing the New Zealander to win the first gold medal on offer at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: "I am just happy. Just bizarre that it's me doing this. There were so many nations and athletes that I have not raced before.

"I feel extremely grateful and proud to be a triathlete today. It's an amazing day for triathlon and I feel super proud to be the winner of this event.

"This is home Games and the first time I have been able to race in front of my parents for a long time. This is probably I'd say my greatest achievement ever. I have spent so many sessions doing the same hill so many times and when I got there it felt like I had done this race before.

"I backed my run to an extent. I am proud of my team. To hold the gap to 15 seconds on the bike was pretty good and I felt confident I could do it. Hayden [Wilde] is a great competitor."

Loughborough’s dedicated 2022 Commonwealth Games website features all the latest news, videos, and medal tables from Birmingham.

Notes for editors

Press release reference number: 22/145

Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2022 QS World University Rankings and University of the Year for Sport by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2022.

Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 7th in The UK Complete University Guide 2022, and 10th in both the Guardian University League Table 2022 and the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022.

Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.

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