Olympic star who Alex Yee pipped to gold claims he was 'punched' - and posts the proof

Alex Yee's victory in the Olympic Games is one of Great Britain's finest moments in recent history, but the person he pipped to the gold medal has been left rather unhappy

Olympic silver medallist Hayden Wilde has sensationally claimed he was punched in the face during the triathlon final.

The New Zealand native was on track for the gold medal when he opened up a huge gap between his rivals going into the final lap. With the finishing line and glory in sight, Alex Yee switched up a gear and tore past Wilde in the home stretch.

While Yee basks in his Olympic success, Wilde took to social media and posted a picture with a huge bruise on his chin. He claimed he took the whack from a fellow triathlete during the race.

Wilde also said he was grabbed and even dragged down into the water during the race by his rival athletes. As the sporting world continued to praise Yee, Wilde took to social media to brandish his war wound.

After uploading the close-up selfie on his Instagram story, he said: "Good punch in the face on the swim. Probably one of the most aggressive swims in a long time, grabbing feet and pushed down."

A few hours later, Wilde appeared to row back on what happened, claiming it made no difference to the result. In another selfie with another athlete, he said: "But don't worry, that's part of racing. Wouldn't have changed the results. Loved that battle, so good!"

Coming into the final lap, Yee was trailing Wilde by 14 seconds. Things were even harder in the earlier stages, as he was as far back as 18th place when he finished the swimming segment.

He made up ground on his bike but was still trailing Wilde significantly. This sensational win adds to Yee's impressive Olympic achievements, having bagged a silver medal in the same event at the Tokyo Games and a gold in the mixed relay triathlon.

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After his stunning win in Paris, the athlete said: "I still don't really know what to say to be honest. I'm a bit lost for words and so grateful to everyone who's been in my corner for the last three years. That was for them. At 5km I was going through a really bad patch. With 2.5km to go I thought, 'I'm going to give myself one last chance at this and not give up'. And here we are."

Earlier in the day, Beth Potter, a former 10,000m track star, clinched Britain's first triathlon medal of the Paris Games when she earned a bronze.

Reflecting on her journey since her last Olympics in Rio de Janeiro 2016, where she competed as a track athlete, she said: "Eight years ago, I watched Vicky Holland on Copacabana, and I was on the track team.

"I've come a long way in eight years. I did it for me, but also for everyone that has helped me in the past eight years. They believed in me from day one, so it's for them."

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