The race for a medal in the Olympic mixed triathlon comes down to a thrilling three-way sprint and a desperate sprint to the finish on the Alexander III Bridge. In a surprising result, Germany’s Laura Lindeman won the gold medal, beating Taylor Knibb of the United States and Beth Potter of Great Britain.
After 1 hour, 25 minutes and 39 seconds, the margin of victory was reduced to 1 second, and it was necessary to take photos to separate Nieb, who won the silver medal, and Porter, who won the bronze medal. GB was initially awarded silver, but the final photo results were altered and GB was demoted to bronze.
British Triathlon performance director Mike Cavendish told the Guardian he had no complaints. “them [organisers] “I wanted to take action immediately,” Cavendish said. “But when you look at the official photos, it was very, very tight – but the right decision.”
“I’m very proud of this team,” Britain’s Alex Yee, who won gold in the men’s individual event, said after Britain’s initial silver medal finish. “What a great day, what a great day for our sport.”
His words were echoed by his team-mate Sam Dickinson, who added: “Very happy with it. Just a clinical relay performance from start to finish, no mistakes whatsoever. As we saw today, walking in the relay Being in the front is very important. I had full confidence in Beth, who had the hardest leg, but she smashed it.
But Team GB will certainly feel like it was a lucky escape. Ahead of the game, there was expected to be a penalty shootout between Great Britain and France, with each athlete having to complete a 300m swim, 7km bike stage and 1.8km run before catching up to their next teammate.
However, the race took a shocking turn early in the first round when French driver Pierre Lecoeur was eliminated by New Zealander Hayden Wilde during a U-turn around the Arc de Triomphe.
To make matters worse for LeCoeur, his chain then came off. That meant France were 37 seconds behind, with Alex Yee handing the lead to Georgia Taylor-Brown. France never fully recovered, although they eventually finished fourth.
The Germans were three seconds behind second place at this stage, but a strong second run from Lisa Teich put them ahead of second place at the halfway mark.
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However, a brilliant performance from Sam Dickinson in the third leg gave Great Britain a seven-second lead, handing the race to Beth Potter as the German and American teams worked together to close the gap.
They succeeded, and the three countries fought to the death for the gold. But as they began the final 1.8 kilometers, Porter knew she had the pedigree to run the 10,000 meters in Rio, having won bronze in the women’s individual triathlon last week. Meanwhile, Lindemann finished eighth in the individual competition and Nibb finished 19th.
However, Lindemann, known for his quick finishes, secured the gold medal for Germany, while Porter initially appeared capable enough to win silver before deciding to relegate Britain to bronze.
