Thrilling end to triathlon sees Hayden Wilde take silver

Hayden Wilde has claimed silver for New Zealand following a stunning finish to the men’s triathlon at the Paris Olympics.

Wilde looked destined for gold as he led into the final few hundred metres, but Britain’s Alex Yee timed his run to perfection to move past the Kiwi and claim first place.

It was a thrilling finish to the delayed race, with Wilde overcoming a tough swim leg to join the leading group near the end of the bike leg.

Yee led out of the final transition, but it wasn’t long before Wilde made his move, catching up with and then passing him well before the halfway mark.

Wilde looked comfortable until Yee’s late charge, meaning the New Zealander now has a silver medal to join his bronze from Tokyo.

Dylan McCullough placed 19th, playing a crucial role in helping Wilde get back into the race after the swim leg. Wilde was a minute off the leaders coming out of the water.

Wilde said he wouldn't have won silver without McCullough's help.

"If it wasn't for him coming back, I wouldn't have done that. He saved me a lot of energy on the bike.

"We had a game plan at the start, if there was a gap of around 15 seconds, he'd drop back and help. I couldn't have done it without him. New Zealand owes him some sort of medal or something."

He told 1News he could not have asked for a better teammate.

"He deserves the keys to New Zealand. He shoed how much class he has on the swim, and on the bike. If I go to LA, I'll do whatever I can to assist him and try to get him on the podium."

He was also gracious towards the winner Yee, saying it was a great race.

"He slowed up at 2km in, and I knew that was my time to go. I got the gap and pushed and pushed and tried and tried. But I missed out at the end.

"I gave it everything, I can't leave this race with a 'what if'? I'm just stoked for Alex as well. We've both choked in big grand finals. It's really nice to pull one off for him and I."

He told 1News he had been friends with Alex for about eight years since they had roomed together.

"Alex and I finally got a battle that we both deserve. There's no penalties, both of us finished, and it was just a clean, fair race for the both of us. And I think that's what we're most proud of, and most stoked about, just between him and I."

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