York’s Sam Dickinson celebrated Alex Yee's gold medal like he'd won one himself - and he certainly played his part.

Yee upgraded his Tokyo triathlon silver to gold in Paris, with a display of ruthless tactical racing genius that defied all conventional wisdom.

And best mate and training partner Dickinson, making his Olympic debut, was at the heart of the victory.

Oh, Yee have little faith, he was right to say as he chased down New Zealand's Hayden Wilde, who seemed to have the gold in his grasp, to cross the line on the gilded Pont Alexandre III.

Alex Yee overtook in the final moments to cross the line firstAlex Yee overtook in the final moments to cross the line first (Image: David Pearce/Team GB)

The experts said this race would come down to the run, the swim and bike mere amuse bouche to the showpiece course on this showpiece course, which weaved around the postcard landmarks of Paris.

But Yee didn't have time to take in the sights though, he had the Kiwi fixed right in his.

The 26-year-old was in contention but when Wilde put on a sudden burst to open a gap on the run, he looked to have emptied his tank. He trailed the New Zealander by over 20 seconds with 2.5km to go, with a predatory chasing pack snapping at his heels too. Hanging on to a medal of any colour looked a good result.

But Yee knows his body and he knows his opponents, not only is the attention to detail of his training programme famously forensic, but he also studies rivals' strengths and weaknesses for any flaw to exploit.

He and Dickinson had plotted this out, the latter put in a huge shift on the bike leg, working with Yee to sap the energy from his biggest medal challengers. 

"I'm just super proud, watching my best mate achieved his dream, that's pretty special," said Dickinson, who is one of over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing them to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support – which has been vital on their pathway to the Paris 2024 Games. 

"I knew I wasn’t going to finish - that was all part of the plan. My plan was just to help Alex win gold by putting in a really big shift on the bike and perhaps sapping the energy of a few. Alex still had to go out there and deliver, so kudos to him."

Yee was first to thank Dickinson, a loyal domestique who toiled in a cause greater than his own.

"I'd like to cut this medal into bits and Sam certainly deserves his share," he said.

Dickinson will be back in action in next week's team race where Great Britain will start favourites, having won gold in Tokyo three years ago.

"Pressure’s a privilege, isn’t it but we also expect ourselves to do well,” he added.

“We’ve done many relays before, and it’s just cracking on and giving our best. It's great to see Alex get his medal but I'd really like one too."

The water quality in the Seine has been the talking point of recent days, despite the high-profile efforts of French authorities to clean it up at a reported cost of £1bn.

The men's race was already delayed 24 hours, but organisers got their wish, the race a two-hour television showcase for Paris' postcard landmarks.

"We all knew it was a possibility there could be a delay, but I thought we dealt with it really professionally," added Dickinson.

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