Alex Yee had to wait to get back to competitive action as he recovered from his London Marathon heroics, and admits he was “pushed to his limits” when he finally did.
But he was back with a bang as he returned to the sport he loves best with a stunning Supertri victory in Toronto at the weekend.
The Olympic champion took time out from triathlon earlier this year to finish 14th in the men’s elite race in London in April in a time of 2:11:08, only to suffer a peroneal tendinopathy injury – causing pain and inflammation of tendons in the foot and ankle.
“Back in the fold”
The 27-year-old said: “It’s nice to be back in the fold. I enjoyed that. I wanted to do Supertri because it gave me three opportunities to do a tri and to learn from them. It was very fast. I loved every second of it – it was an amazing crowd at an amazing venue.
“I think, like everyone, when you do your first race of the season, you worry that you’ve lost it all, but I’ve still got it. It was a nice confidence boost as I was pushed to my limits.
“So good to be back! Triathlon gives me purpose, and I will never take these moments for granted. Thanks to the guys, it was great to be back out with you!”
The Supertri format in Toronto featured three rounds of racing, each consisting of a 300-meter swim, 4-kilometre bike, and 1.6-kilometre run, with six-minute breaks between rounds.
Yee is now expected to continue his preparations for the World Triathlon Championship Series in the French Riviera on August 31.
No regrets
Despite picking up his injury during the marathon, Yee has no regrets about testing himself in a different sport, and believes it can help take his triathlon racing to a new level.
Speaking before this weekend’s return in Toronto, he said: “There were things which I could probably get away with in triathlon that I couldn’t get away with in a marathon, which I can now apply to triathlon and hopefully that will make me a better athlete as a result.
“It was really interesting to take that small step back. You get so used to training in a certain way, so when you take yourself out of a comfort zone and train a little bit differently and you’re a little bit worse at it, it’s an exciting thing for me.
“I still feel like I have that energy towards the sport, and what’s exciting me right now is that internal drive to be the best I can be. I know that each year success is rented and you’ve got to earn that right to be back at the top.”
