Alex Yee and Beth Potter’s Olympic triumphs can inspire the next generation of British triathletes at all ages, according to British Triathlon Performance Director Mike Cavendish.
Potter earned an impressive bronze in the women’s race before Yee followed with gold, sealed with a stunning sprint finish past New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde. The Paris 2024 Games also saw Brits Kate Waugh, Georgia Taylor-Brown and Sam Dickinson all compete in an impressive showing of British strength in the City of Lights.
“It was just a fantastic day,” said Cavendish. “We obviously come in to every event hoping that we can be successful, hoping that we can win a medal but it’s the Olympic Games.
“It was just a brilliant day all round, Beth was clearly absolutely fantastic. She was overjoyed, you know, moving from one sport to another, winning an Olympic medal is an unbelievable achievement.
“Then Alex winning gold was amazing, but I think it was more the manner in which he won gold that kind of took everybody by surprise and just created a fantastic story and spectacle for the sport.”
Cavendish is hopeful that those at home were left inspired by two thrilling races and will want to swim, bike, run themselves through British Triathlon’s ‘Paris Inspired’ programme.
Paris Inspired will see a range of free activities on offer over the next few months, including family-friendly and adult focused sessions. Swim Bike Run Mini brings together two or three of triathlon’s disciplines in an event setting and Swim Bike Run Develop which are coached sessions to build confidence in the singular disciplines.
Bringing the medal success of Paris to the doorsteps of people across Great Britain is also something that British Triathlon hope to achieve this summer according to Cavendish, with the free Paris Inspired activities, and the national network of clubs and events key to that.
“Now it is our job to really capitalise on that and get kids into triathlon clubs, get them swimming, get them riding and get them running because that’s the thing really that ultimately we are here for.
“The ability to then retell those stories and to say to the young kids on the street watching or the kids at home, it’s just a fantastic advert for our sport.”
Triathlon combines swimming, cycling and running, with a range of opportunities on offer to combine two or three of the disciplines at family friendly Swim Bike Run Mini events and Swim Bike Run Develop coached sessions.
Yee and Potter’s successes were notable for their different routes into the sport, with Potter first representing Team GB at the Rio 2016 Olympics as part of the athletics team in the 10,000m.
New Olympic champion Yee also hailed from a largely running background but branched out to all three disciplines while still a youngster and Cavendish underlined the need to look beyond traditional triathlon circles to find both the very best athletes and increase community participation.
He added: “Unfortunately there’s only a very, very tiny percentage that go on to be an elite triathlete, an even smaller number that goes onto the Olympics and obviously an even smaller number that go on to win an Olympic medal, we obviously want to find those people.
“It is trying to make sure that we are inspiring a young kid on the side of the street or who is in a swim club or a run club or in one of those sports to have a go at triathlon, go down to their local club, go down to their local event, give it a go for the first time, no matter how old they are, it’s not too late, no matter what sport they are doing, it’s not too late.
“The other side of it is more about seeing people on the street doing something that is outdoors that anyone can do, it is easily accessible, hopefully gives somebody inspiration for somebody to get off the sofa to go for a run for the first time to just get active in any one of swim, bike, run is hugely important to us as a federation, I think it is important to us as a country really for the lifestyles we all lead now.”
The three major participation activities in the country come together under the triathlon banner, with helping people to get active in swim, bike, run something Cavendish sees as being part of the legacy of this summer’s success.
“It’s not just about creating a legacy to hopefully have the next Alex Yee, the next Beth Potter in 20 years’ time, it’s about as much getting people active and to enjoy being active in one of the three disciplines or a combination of the three disciplines that are a part of triathlon.”
Triathlon England is supporting clubs and organisers to deliver free events and activities through the Paris Inspired campaign to give more people the opportunity to try swim, bike, run https://www.britishtriathlon.org/the-games/paris-inspired
