Alex Yee is hoping that this week’s triathlon Olympic Test Event in Paris will give him plenty of insight into next year’s Olympic Games in the French capital.
The 25-year-old finished 33rd in the Test Event for the Tokyo Olympics but went on to secure a silver medal in the individual race before winning gold in the mixed team relay. He is hoping, like in Tokyo, that the lessons he can learn from next week’s race will stand him in good stead ahead of next year.
He said: “I’ve always been a person that looks forward and never really reflects on what I’ve done, but I definitely have some learnings from previous races, particularly Tokyo, that I do use especially in preparation for this.
“One that springs to mind is that I didn’t race particularly well at the Tokyo Test Event two years before the Games. I think for me that is an important reminder that although I didn’t race well there, I was able to learn so much about the course and the environment that I was going to be training in up to the Games.
“It put me into a really good place at the Olympic Games to deliver a good performance, so as much as I’m looking to get the most out of Paris from a performance point of view, I think learning as much as I can about the course is also going to be so critical for next year.”
Yee heads into the Paris Test Event in fine form having won twice in the World Triathlon Championship Series already this year as well as securing bronze at 2023 World Triathlon Sprint and Relay Championships Hamburg.
“2023 has been amazing so far, it has been good to be racing again in the Championship Series,” he explained. “Cagliari and Abu Dhabi were really good races for me.
“I was particularly proud of Cagliari, that I was able to put together what I felt like was a really good swim, bike, run. Hamburg was really good as well to experience a new format, and to race in that environment with that company is always good. It came down to fine margins, which I love about this sport. It can go your way one day and it can go the other way the next day.”
Yee will be racing on Friday 18 August alongside fellow Brit and three-time Olympic medallist, Jonny Brownlee. All the action will be live on Triathlon Live with the race getting underway at 07:00 BST.
View the full start list for the Elite Men’s race here.
