Alexander Amos Yee (born 18 February 1998) is a British professional

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between ...

and

distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

. He won the silver medal in the Men's Triathlon at the

Tokyo 2020 Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the List of Olympic Games h ...

and the gold medal in the Triathlon Mixed Relay at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on Saturday 31 July 2021. He is also the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

triathlon champion in both the men's and mixed team events. He is a double World Championship medalist over the World Triathlon Championship Series, with silver in 2022, and bronze in 2021 In 2022, Yee won his first individual World Championship, the 2022 World Triathlon Sprint Championships in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

in Canada. Yee has also been part of the gold medal-winning relay team in the World Triathlon Mixed Relay Championships in Nottingham in 2019. He won silver in the same event in Montreal, securing Great Britain its first quota places in the

2024 Summer Olympics ) , nations = TBA , athletes = 10,500 ''(quota limit)'' , events = 329 in 32 sports (48 disciplines) , opening = 26 July 2024 , closing = 11 August 2024 , opened_by = , stadium = Stade de France Jardins du Trocadéro and River Seine , summer ...

. In non-traditional formats, Yee was the winner of the 2021

Super League Triathlon Super League Triathlon is a league of nonstandard triathlon-based races held in the traditional off-season of the sport. Every race involves a swim, bike and run element but all contain additional rules in an aim to test athletic ability, increase ...

Championship Series. In 2022, he became the inaugural Esport Triathlon World Champion, after finishing second at both the London and the Singapore Arena Games Triathlon event. As a distance runner, Yee was the 2018 British 10,000m champion, and led Great Britain to the team silver medal in the

European 10,000m Cup The European 10,000m Cup is an annual 10,000 metres race for European athletes which was first held in 1997. The competition is organised by the European Athletics Association and first began as the European 10000 Metres Challenge (''European ...

as both races were combined as part of the Night of 10,000m PBs festival event at

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their archit ...

. He represented Great Britain in the subsequent

European Athletics Championships The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletics Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe. Editions First held, for m ...

Early life

Education

Yee completed his A levels at

Kingsdale Foundation School Kingsdale Foundation School (KFS) is a British mixed secondary school with academy status in West Dulwich, London, with an age range of 11–19 (Year 7 to sixth form). Admissions to the school are coordinated by the Southwark London Borough Co ...

West Dulwich West Dulwich ( ) is a neighbourhood in South London on the southern boundary of Brockwell Park, which straddles the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Southwark. Croxted Road and South Croxted Road mark the boundary between S ...

and then went on to study for a BSc in Sport and Exercise Science at

Leeds Beckett University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the Leeds city centre, city centre and He ...

Career

2016 season

On 4 June 2016 Alex won the ITU World Junior Duathlon Championships in

Avilés Avilés (; ) is a town in Asturias, Spain. Avilés is, along with Oviedo and Gijón, one of the main cities in the Principality of Asturias. The town occupies the flattest land in the municipality, partially in a land that belonged to the sea ...

in northern Spain. As a result, he was shortlisted for the SportsAid "One to Watch" award which he went on to win, receiving his award from Sir

Mo Farah Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a British long-distance runner. His ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World titles) make him the most successful male track distance runner ever ...

at the ceremony in November.

2017 season

At the

ITU Triathlon World Cup The World Triathlon Cup is an annual series of triathlon races staged around the world. The series is organised by the World Triathlon, the world governing body of the sport. Inaugurated in 1991, the World Cup began as an attempt to create a regular ...

race in

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitan ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label= Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, af ...

, Italy on 4 June 2017, Alex tangled with another competitor on the bike and crashed into a concrete bollard, suffering broken ribs and vertebrae and a

pneumothorax A pneumothorax is an abnormal collection of air in the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of sharp, one-sided chest pain and shortness of breath. In a minority of cases, a one-way valve ...

(collapsed lung).

2018 season

Athletics

On 19 May 2018 Yee set a PB (Personal Best) in the 10,000m of 27:51.94, less than five seconds outside the British under-23 record of 27:47.0 set in 1971 by

Dave Bedford David Colin "Dave" Bedford OBE (born 30 December 1949) is an English former long-distance runner, whose athletic career spanned the early 1970s. Post retirement he served as race director of the London Marathon until 2012, and is the Chairman o ...

. Earlier in the year, Yee set the second quickest ever

Parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of 5K run, events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior p ...

time to date, clocking 13:57 at Dulwich.

Triathlon

Alex started his 2018 triathlon season off with a 6th place at the Gran Canaria ETU Sprint Triathlon European Cup, following this with an 8th place at the Cagliari ITU World Cup, returning to the site of his accident a year prior. June saw him compete at Antwerp, registering a disappointing 49th place (despite producing the fastest run split), and then in September he competed in the U23 category at the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Gold Coast, coming home 10th. Later the same month he made it onto the podium for the first and only time in 2018, taking bronze at the ITU World Cup in

Weihai Weihai (), formerly called Weihaiwei (), is a prefecture-level city and major seaport in easternmost Shandong province. It borders Yantai to the west and the Yellow Sea to the east, and is the closest Chinese city to South Korea. Weihai's popul ...

in China.

2019 season

Alex made his debut in the

ITU World Triathlon Series The World Triathlon Championship Series is World Triathlon's annual series of triathlon events used to crown an annual world champion since 2008. There are multiple rounds of competitions culminating in a Grand Final race. Athletes compete head- ...

at Abu Dhabi with a sprint-distance race on 8 March 2019. After a strong swim and bike he recorded the second-fastest 5 km run of the race to finish second to

Mario Mola Mario Mola (born 23 February 1990 in Palma de Mallorca), is a Spanish professional triathlete. He is the 2016, 2017 and 2018 ITU World Triathlon Series World Champion. He has placed 19th at the London Olympic Games 2012, 8th at the Rio Olympic ...

in a race that saw 9 DNFs. In the build-up to the race, Alex confirmed his view that he was a triathlete first and foremost, despite being a nationally ranked runner, and stated his intentions to qualify for the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the List of Olympic Games h ...

. Following this he took on his first

Standard Distance event at

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of ...

in Japan, finishing in 5th overall. Later the same year, he went on to record a Gold in Nottingham in the Mixed Team relay in June in less-than-ideal weather conditions, resulting in the race being altered to a

duathlon Duathlon is an athletic event that consists of a running leg, followed by a cycling leg and then another running leg in a format similar to triathlons. The International Triathlon Union governs the sport internationally. Distance and format D ...

format (run, bike, run).

Georgia Taylor-Brown Georgia Taylor-Brown (born 15 March 1994) is a British triathlete. Having won bronze in the 2018 and 2019 World Triathlon Series, Taylor Brown won the one-off sprint triathlon race in Hamburg that constituted the 2020 World Triathlon Championsh ...

took the first leg, followed by Ben Dijkstra,

Sophie Coldwell Sophie Coldwell (born 25 February 1995) is a British triathlete. She competed in the women's event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. and has achieved several medals in International Triathlon Union (ITU) and European Triathlon Union (ETU) Champion ...

in leg 3 and Yee on the anchor leg to seal the victory ahead of Switzerland in Silver and France in Bronze. Team GB recorded a Silver two months later in the same discipline in Tokyo, with Yee being beaten at the line on the final leg by

Dorian Coninx Dorian Coninx (born 28 January 1994) is a French triathlete. He competed in the men's event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Triathlon career Coninx won both the Junior European and Junior World Championship in 2013. He then won the U23 World tit ...

representing France. The line-up was altered from that fielded at Nottingham, with Jess Learmonth, Gordon Benson,

and Yee on the final leg. This success followed a disappointing result in July in Hamburg where the team finished 10th overall, with the team comprising Jess Learmonth,

Jonny Brownlee Jonathan Callum Brownlee (born 30 April 1990) is a British professional duathlete and triathlete. He is a six-time World champion (once World Triathlon Series, twice World Sprint Triathlon, three-time World Triathlon Mixed Relay), and one- ...

and Yee on the final leg. Learmonth encountered problems on the swim, resulting in Team GB entering T1 in 15th place and unable to make up the deficit on subsequent legs. Individually, Yee finished the season recording a 13th-place finish at the Grand Final in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , , , ) ; it, Losanna; rm, Losanna. is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French speaking canton of Vaud. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and fac ...

in Switzerland, and an overall ITU WTS ranking of 12th, recording 2521 points from 5 races.

2020 season

Athletics

On 8 August, in the Podium 5 km at

Barrowford Barrowford () is a large village and civil parish in the Pendle district of Lancashire, England. It is situated to the north of Nelson on the other side of the M65 motorway, and forms part of the Nelson conurbation. It also comprises the area of ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

, Yee ran 13:26 behind winner

Marc Scott Marc Scott (born 21 December 1993) is a British long-distance runner. He took his first global medal with bronze in the 3000 metres at the 2022 World Indoor Championships. He is the current European record holder in the indoor 5000 metres and ...

in 13:20, the second fastest 5 km time ever by a British athlete. Later in the month, Yee ran a personal best of 7:45.81 over 3000 metres at the Bromley Twilight Meeting.

Triathlon

Yee started his 2020 race programme as one of four male GB athletes at the ITU World Cup race at

Mooloolaba Mooloolaba is a coastal suburb of Maroochydore in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It is located north of the state capital, Brisbane, and is part of the Maroochydore urban centre. In the , Mooloolaba had a population of 7,730 ...

in Australia, recording the fastest run time of 14:55 but only achieving a 37th-place finish overall due to a mechanical prior to T2.

2021 season

Yee won the silver medal in the

, held in 2021, as well as a gold medal in the mixed triathlon, in which he was the competitor to cross the finish line for the team. Yee was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(MBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

for services to triathlon. Yee won the 2021

Championship Series. He took victory in the final race of the series, held in Malibu, California, crossing the line just fractions of a second ahead of Belgium's Marten Van Riel. He also took the win at the Super League Triathlon, Jersey race, earlier in the season, finishing ahead of teammate

Jonathan Brownlee Jonathan Callum Brownlee (born 30 April 1990) is a British professional duathlete and triathlete. He is a six-time World champion (once World Triathlon Series, twice World Sprint Triathlon, three-time World Triathlon Mixed Relay), and one-t ...

in the process. Yee also finished second in the SLT Arena Games, Rotterdam 2021.

2022 season

Yee competed in

's Arena Games Triathlon Powered by Zwift Esports Triathlon series in 2022. The series will go on to crown the first ever triathlon Esports World Champion. At the first event of the series, held at Munich's

Olympiapark The Olympiapark (English: Olympic Park) in Munich, Germany, is an Olympic Park which was constructed for the 1972 Summer Olympics. Located in the Oberwiesenfeld neighborhood of Munich, the Park continues to serve as a venue for cultural, social, ...

, Yee finished in 6th. However, following a rule change at the next event, held at

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a sporting complex and public park in Stratford, Hackney Wick, Leyton and Bow, in east London. It was purpose-built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, situated adjacent to the Stratford City develop ...

London, Yee finished in 2nd, being narrowly beaten by

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Justus Nieschlag Justus Nieschlag (born 9 March 1992 in Hildesheim), is a German professional triathlete, member of the National Team (B-Kader/U23), and the Junior European Champion of the year 2011. In Germany, Nieschlag represents the club of his home town, '' ...

. At the final event of the series, held at Marina Bay, Singapore, Yee finished in second place behind New Zealand's Hayden Wilde. However, that was enough to see him take the win in the overall series, giving him the title of inaugural Esport Triathlon World Champion. At the

, Yee won the first gold medal of the Games by in triathlon. He emerged from the swim in 15th place, and chased down the leader in the run to win his first major race of the season. He won a second gold in the mixed relay with Sophie Coldwell, Sam Dickinson, and Georgia Taylor-Brown. He started in the first leg of the race to give the second leg a 20-second lead, which the team held on to win the race. Yee competed as a wildcard at the opening event of the 2022

championship series in London. He finished the event in 3rd, behind

Matthew Hauser Matthew Hauser (born 3 April 1998) is an Australian triathlete. In 2021, he competed in the men's triathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. He also competed in the mixed relay event. In 2018, he won the gold medal in the m ...

and Hayden Wilde.

ITU World Triathlon Series Competitions

Yee's

race results are:;

ITU Triathlon World Cup Competitions

Yee's

Series race results are:;

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yee, Alex 1998 births Living people English male triathletes Alumni of Leeds Beckett University Athletes from London English male middle-distance runners Triathletes at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in triathlon Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics English people of Chinese descent Olympic triathletes of Great Britain Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Lewisham Triathletes at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games medallists in triathlon