Team GB star Alex Yee insists he and his rivals are ‘fierce’ competitors but remain ‘mates’ after his celebration in supertri’s opening race received a wave of criticism on social media.
Yee produced one of the standout moments of this summer’s Olympic Games from a British perspective as he mounted an incredible comeback to pip New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde to men’s triathlon gold in Paris.
And on Sunday, history repeated itself as Yee – renowned for his prowess in the 10km run – once again overtook the Kiwi at the death to secure an outstanding victory in front of a rapturous Boston crowd.
While approaching the finish line, the 26-year-old began thumping his chest before showboating with a Kylian Mbappe-like, arms-crossed celebration, which appeared to irk Wilde, who was left trailing in his wake.
Yee’s celebration received a mixed reaction among triathlon fans, with some suggesting the Lewisham-born athlete had tarnished his win with the ‘classless’ and ‘arrogant’ stunt.
Responding to the backlash on X at the time, Yee tweeted: ‘No celebration next time, apologies.’
Wilde, meanwhile, said: ‘I think I’ve been seeing too many silvers in the last couple of weeks so it would be nice to get a gold.’
This weekend, Wilde will be looking to get revenge as the stars of supertri reconvene for the second meeting of the season in Chicago.
In a message on Instagram ahead of the race, Yee said he and his rivals were looking forward to ‘putting on a show’ in the Windy City.
The Brit also reassured fans that he and Wilde remained good friends despite his showboating in Boston last time out.
‘We live for this sport,’ Yee told his followers on Instagram.
‘After the Olympics I’ve ridden a rollercoaster. Incredible highs but also some lows too… So to be able to race these guys again was pure excitement.
‘We race fiercely and competitively but at the end of the day we all are mates and want to put on a show for you.
‘Thanks Boston! #mbappe or #palmer.’
Wilde accused his fellow competitors of ‘hiding’ and giving Yee an easy ride with their questionable tactics in Boston.
‘It was just a bit of a shame the other boys didn’t decide to come and do some work, yeah they were just hiding a bit and waiting for the run,’ he said.
‘I don’t really see that as racing, I was trying to call them through but they didn’t want to go through and if I didn’t keep pushing, the other boys [the chase group] would have turned up.
‘It’s a bit of a shame to be honest but that’s racing, that’s their tactics and we’ll come into Chicago and try and get the win there.’
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