Leeds WTCS the last train to Tokyo Olympics. Whose got the GB men’s ticket?
With Jonny Brownlee already confirmed for the Olympics all eyes were on the performance of Alex Yee and Alistair Brownlee for the one spot left up for grabs in the Team GB Mens Team to go the Tokyo Olympics and as to whether Tom Bishop could make a significant impact to ascend into the top 30 Olympic rankings to gain Team GB men a third qualifying spot.
On point one, it looks more than likely that Alex Yee will have gained that second spot as he impressively won the WTCS race at Leeds. The British Triathlon selection committee cannot be more than overtly impressed by Yee’s winning performance at Leeds following on from his terrific 4th place at Yokohama. The selectors’ role will be to tease out the rightful Olympian from the current crop of high-level men and there can be no question that Yee is that potential Gold Medallist.
Mike Cavendish, performance director for British Triathlon: “We meet on Tuesday, and again a couple of weeks later. There are no guarantees but he [Yee] is in a good spot…We would have loved to see Alistair closer to the front but he has been carrying an injury. We will talk to Alistair, see where his head is at, talk to Alex as well and put all that into the mix.”
Nonetheless, Alistair Brownlee’s hopes of competing for a third Olympic gold medal in Tokyo this summer appear to be over as he found himself on the wrong side of Triathlon rules at Leeds and was DQ as the British Olympic gold medallist was adjudged to be using dark arts to impede USA’s Chase McQueen. Brownlee was penalised by officials for ‘unsportsmanlike behaviour’ when broadcast footage showed him appearing to ‘dunk ‘the USA athlete during the 1,500m swim in Roundhay Park.
Even Alistair Brownlee himself appears to admit defeat in his bid to make Britain’s squad for the Tokyo Olympics, with the 33-year-old struggling with a persistent ankle injury. “I think GB have a great team going to the Olympics and I wish them all the best,” he tweeted.
On the final point, the chances of a third Olympic spot for the British men’s team looks remote as Tom Bishop finished a commendable 16th in Leeds but that only moved him up one place in the rankings to 34th. There is one final chance for Bishop to accrue the qualification points required in the World Triathlon Cup in Huatulco, Mexico, next week. But this will require a Herculean effort by Bishop to claim the win or the very least a podium to have any glimmer of hope for that elusive third qualifying slot.
“The king is dead, long live the king!” As a new era begins for short-course triathlon with the accession of the new monarch of British Triathlon in young Alex Yee, it appears we say a fond farewell to Olympic Gold Double medallist of London 2012 and Rio 2016 and two-time World Triathlon world champion Alistair Brownlee as he makes a move to long-distance triathlon. Thanks for the memories!
