Alex Yee fell behind in Wednesday's men's triathlon after swimming in the raging currents of the Seine, and fell behind after cycling in the Paris sauna, lagging at the end of the race, well behind the leader, Hayden Wilde.

A final Olympic lap that will be talked about for years to come. When Alex Yee (GBR) hit the ground running, he was 15 seconds behind leader Hayden Wilde (NZL) and facing his second consecutive individual Olympic silver in a row. What came next was extraordinary: Wilde began to feel the heat and the Brit gradually closed the gap, passing him just before the final turn onto the blue carpet and taking the tape and his second Olympic gold.

It didn't take long for Alex Yee to move to the front of the bike and make a move on the French trio, Dylan McCullough and Jamie Riddle. Wilde worked hard for the first few kilometers to get back into the race and form a strong group with Blummenfelt, Vilaca and Great Britain's Samuel Dickinson, 13 seconds off the lead.

Yee stepped on the gas early in the race and issued the challenge to the rest of the peloton, Hauser and Vilaca tried to stay in touch, Lehmann held on valiantly after forcing his way back into the mix.

The boost also meant a medal upgrade for Yee: The individual silver from Tokyo 2020 was upgraded to individual gold at Paris 2024. With three Olympic triathlon medals to his credit (Yee won his second medal, and first gold, with the GBR mixed relay team at Tokyo 2020), Yee now equals compatriot and former teammate Jonny Brownlee as the athlete with the most triathlon medals in Games history. 

It was ecstasy for Yee, anguish for the New Zealander, while the crowd cheered Leo Bergere for his country's bronze.

"I gave it my best shot in the race," Yee said. "At the 5k I was going through a rough patch and honestly I probably thought the race was over, but I wanted to give myself one last chance and not give up on what I had worked so hard for and what so many other people had worked with me to achieve. I owed them and myself one last chance. For me, triathlon racing has always been about racing three events, not just one, so I was very proud to be a race cheerleader, put on a show and hopefully people could enjoy themselves.”