World Triathlon Championship Series: GB’s Alex Yee wins in Weihai and Beth Potter comes second

Britain’s Olympic champion Alex Yee took victory in the penultimate race of the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS), while Beth Potter finished second in the women’s race in Weihai, China.

Yee, 26, crossed the line in one hour, 48 minutes, 21 seconds, finishing 46 seconds ahead of Frenchman Leo Bergere, with Brazilian Miguel Hidalgo in third place.

Potter, bronze winner at Paris 2024, finished 17 seconds behind German winner Lisa Tertsch, while compatriots Georgia Taylor-Brown and Kate Waugh finished third and fifth respectively.

Yee leads the overall men’s standings ahead of next month’s championship final, while reigning women’s champion Potter is second behind Olympic champion Cassandre Beaugrand.

Yee, second in the championship in 2022, led the run from start to finish, claiming victory at the first race in Weihai as New Zealand’s Olympic silver medalist Hayden Wilde slipped to seventh.

Jack Willis finished ninth, ahead of Max Stapley (11th), Connor Bentley (17th) and Harry Leleu (30th).

Potter was unable to close the gap as Tertsch also led the entire run, winning in 02:04:42, but finished 41 seconds ahead of British teammate Taylor-Brown.

Waugh followed Germany’s Tanja Neubert across the line, with Sian Rainsley in twentieth place.

The final of the World Triathlon Championship Series will take place from October 17 to 20 in Torremolinos-Andalusia in Spain.

Yee has achieved the maximum number of points from his three races that count towards the rankings – in addition to Weihai, also at the WTCS Cagliari and the Olympic Games in Paris.

Potter closed the gap to Beaugrand with her first second place, having finished third in the past three races.

She is 113.73 points behind the Frenchwoman, with 1,250 points – compared to 1,000 in the other series races – up for grabs at the WTCS Finals.

Tertsch is close behind in the standings after her victory, with 2020 champion and 2022 runner-up Taylor-Brown 408.74 points off the podium.