Alex Yee feeling a responsibility to carry on Brownlee’s legacy

Alex Yee admits he feels a “responsibility” to carry on the Brownlee brothers’ Olympic legacy as he prepares for a Paris triathlon still shrouded in uncertainty.

The 26-year-old Tokyo silver medalist will be gunning for glory this morning as he swims, cycles and runs through the French capital, bidding to follow in the footsteps of the British heroes who came before him.

Alistair won two memorable gold medals at London 2012 and Rio 2016, while Jonny claimed bronze and silver to help cap a golden era for Team GB on the global stage.

Loughborough star Yee, who combined with Jonny, Georgia Taylor-Brown and Jess Learmonth to win medley relay gold in Japan three years ago, will now hope to emulate the brothers’ heroics in the grueling event – consisting of a swim of 1 .5 km, 40 kilometers. km cycle and 10km run – as fellow Briton Sam Dickinson flies the flag for Team GB.

But concerns remain over the quality of the water in the River Seine – where the swim stage is due to take place – after both Sunday and Monday’s practice sessions were canceled due to high pollution levels.

Yee will face a nervous wait in the morning to see if his highly-anticipated showdown with hot rival Hayden Wilde will go ahead as planned, with two emergency days scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

But speaking ahead of the first Olympics without a Brownlee competing since Athens 2004, Yee hopes to draw on their past glories and replicate the type of performance that saw him crowned champion at the Paris Test Event last year.

“I wouldn’t say the baton has been passed on to me, but I feel a responsibility now that unfortunately Jonny’s not here,” he said.

“We have to keep their legacy alive. We have such a rich heritage in British triathlon and I would love to continue that.

“For me, watching the Olympics and then being able to be on a team with some of these guys, hopefully I can do something similar with somebody in a few years.

“That’s how the cycle goes and I’m looking forward to the next few years with that pleasure of people supporting me.”

All three Tokyo medalists return to Paris, with Yee and Wilde joined by gold winner Kristian Blummenfelt, who is attempting a fiendishly difficult step back from Ironman to Olympic distance.

Yee and fellow Kiwi Wilde have shared a number of close battles in recent years, their rivalry emerging from a trend that sees triathlons increasingly decided on the running leg.

But this is far from a two-horse race, with the host nation able to field two recent world champions in Leo Bergere and Dorian Coninx.

Yee added: “I think it will be a tough gun race.

“It will be a triathlon, for sure, and the current will play an important role. It is incredibly strong underwater.

“People will run hard and some people won’t want to leave it on a run and some people will. I will do my best to be at the top and be competitive all the way.”

Watch every moment of the Paris 2024 Olympics live only on Discovery+, the streaming home of the Olympics