Paris Olympics: Golds to Cassandre Beaugrand and Alex Yee After Seine Finally Deemed Suitable for Triathlons

Paris Olympics: Golds to Cassandre Beaugrand and Alex Yee After Seine Finally Deemed Suitable for Triathlons

After days of concern, canceled training sessions and the postponement of the men’s event, the men’s and women’s Olympic triathlons were held on Wednesday morning in Paris. Due to unsafe water conditions in the Seine River, there were concerns that the triathlons would turn into duathlons, with the swimming portion of the event eliminated.

On Wednesday morning, however, Olympic officials declared that the Seine was clean enough for competition and the women’s race would be contested, followed by the rescheduled men’s race. The famed river, which has serious pollution problems, will also be used for the open-water 10K events that will take place after the nine-day pool competition comes to a close.

In the women’s race, France’s Cassandre Beaugrand claimed the gold medal in 1:54:55 to finish six seconds ahead of Switzerland’s Julie Derron, who crossed the finish line in 1:55.01. Beaugrand was sixth after the swim and eighth after the cycling portion of the event, but she relied on her running skills to win the gold medal.

The bronze medal went to Great Britain’s Beth Potter, who was timed in 1:55:10 and finished six seconds ahead of France’s Emma Lombardi to stand on the podium. Taylor Spivey was the top American finisher, placing 10^th.

In the men’s race, Great Britain’s Alex Yee pulled off a comeback to win the gold medal. Yee was the silver medalist three years ago in Tokyo. Like Beaugrand, Yee made a move during the run to complete an improbable comeback and prevail in 1:43:33. Yee finished six seconds clear of New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde, who was timed in 1:43:39. The bronze medal went to France’s Leo Burger (1:43:43), who was followed by countryman Pierre le Corre (1:43:51).

Yee had considerable ground to make up after the first two legs of the triathlon. The British athlete was 18^th after the swim and 16^th after he dismounted his bike. Wilde also came from behind for his silver medal, moving up from 29^th after the swim and sitting 10^th after the bike.

Results

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