Commonwealth Games: Alex Yee wins England’s first gold medal of Birmingham 2022

Above: Alex Yee's south London training club congratulate him on getting gold

England’s Alex Yee has won the first gold medal of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, taking victory in the men’s triathlon.

Yee, who's from Lewisham, grabbed England’s first gold medal of the Commonwealth Games with victory in the men’s triathlon at Sutton Park.

The Olympic gold and silver medallist secured the Commonwealth medal unchallenged after New Zealand's Hayden Wilde was forced to take a 10-second penalty.

He chased down Wilde to clinch victory in 50 minutes 34 seconds, beating the New Zealander by 13 seconds with Australia’s Matthew Hauser three seconds further back.

Wilde, a strong cyclist, had opened up a 16-second gap on Yee heading into the final section of the race, the first gold medal event of Birmingham 2022.

But the 24-year-old slowly reeled him in before news of Wilde's penalty reached the two athletes, allowing Yee a free run at the Commonwealth Games title.

Georgia Taylor-Brown, who also won an individual silver medal in Tokyo, was hoping to emulate Yee later on Friday in the women’s event.

Yee described his win as "my greatest achievement ever", adding to BBC Sport: "It’s the first time I’ve been able to race in front of my parents for a long time at a major Games.

"I’m just happy. It’s bizarre it’s me that’s doing this and I can feel extremely grateful to be in this situation.

"I feel proud to be a triathlete today, to see so many different nations who I’ve never raced before and who are doing triathlon for the first time."