Olympic silver medallist Hayden Wilde has claimed he was punched in the face during the triathlon final. The New Zealander looked certain to claim the gold medal when he went into the final lap with an impressive lead.
However, his triumph ended in extraordinary fashion, as Great Britain’s Alex Yee found an extra gear and overtook Wilde in the final stages of the race. As Yee continues to revel in Olympic glory, Wilde took to social media to claim he was on the wrong end of some physical treatment from other triathletes.
He claimed he was struck in the face and had his feet grabbed and dragged down by other racers. The 26-year-old even showed off a bruise on his chin that he claimed was suffered in the race.
When he uploaded the selfie, showcasing the mark on his chin, he said: “Good punch in the face on the swim. Probably one of the most aggressive swims in a long time, grabbing feet and pushed down.”
Three hours later, he played down what had happened in another Instagram story. He said: “But don’t worry, that’s part of racing. Wouldn’t have changed the results. Loved that battle, so good!”
Yee was 14 seconds away from Wilde when he began his final lap. He was also 18th coming out of the water but managed to move himself to the front when he hopped on his bike.
His triumph followed the silver medal he won in the same event at the Tokyo Games in 2021, where he also won gold in the triathlon mixed relay.
After his victory in the French capital, he said: “I still don’t really know what to say to be honest. I’m a bit lost for words and so grateful to everyone who’s been in my corner for the last three years. That was for them.
“At 5km I was going through a really bad patch. With 2.5km to go I thought, I’m going to give myself one last chance at this and not give up, and here we are.”
Before Yee’s heroics, former 10,000m track star Beth Potter won Britain’s first triathlon medal of the day when she earned a bronze medal. She looked back on her last Olympics at Rio de Janeiro 2016, where she was still a track athlete.
While reminiscing, she said: “Eight years ago, I watched Vicky Holland on Copacabana, and I was on the track team,” she said after her third place finish. I’ve come a long way in eight years. I did it for me, but also for everyone that has helped me in the past eight years. They believed in me from day one, so it’s for them.”
