TEAM GB have been cruelly demoted from silver to bronze after ‘lifting the ball’ in the triathlon medley relay.
Alex Yee, Georgia Taylor-Brown, Sam Dickinson and Beth Potter made it to the finish line but were edged out by Germany.
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The Great Britain team was denied a silver medalCredit: EPA
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It all came down to a photo finishCredit: BBC Sport
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Team GB thought they had secured silverCredit: X / @TeamGB
The remaining two medals were then decided by an incredibly tight photo finish.
After a nervous wait, Team GB were handed silver – only to be demoted after the post-race review.
Everyone involved was under the assumption that Yee, Taylor-Brown, Dickinson and Potter had won silver, with Team GB even taking to social media to congratulate the quartet in second place.
But the change was confirmed just over 15 minutes after the end of the race.
Rowing legend and BBC pundit Matthew Pinsent called the situation “absolute balls”.
He went to X to write: “Three officials are having a hard time not getting the photo finish absolutely correct in the first instance. GB bronze correct, but there are procedures in loads of sports to learn from that are better than this.”
Director of British Triathlon, Mike Cavendish, said: “We thought it was silver, the screen showed it was silver. The judges will look at the video, which is not great to play. When the official photo finish came, America were ahead of us.
“It’s very rare to have a photo finish. I’m still so proud that they won bronze, it’s just a great advertisement for our sport.”
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Alex Yee got off to a brilliant start Credit: Getty
Men’s gold medalist Yee started the race for Team GB, building a strong lead with 16 seconds left in the first leg.
Taylor-Brown then took over and held the lead until the final 1.8km stretch of the run, when Germany’s Lisa Tertsch was in front.
Team Great Britain star Alex Yee won a medal in the triathlon at the Paris Olympics
With just one second difference from Great Britain and Germany, Dickinson and Lasse Luehrs were level throughout the third stage.
But the Briton dug deep to take a five-second lead into the final innings.
Potter, who won a bronze medal in the women’s individual triathlon last week, then took over in the final leg.
She couldn’t quite keep up the pace in the cycle, dropping to third place behind Taylor Knibb and Laura Lindemann.
But a quick transition brought her back to the fore and set up an exciting finale.
Lindemann crossed the finish line first, but it came down to a photo finish between Potter and Knibb.
Triathlon controversy
The conclusion of the medley relay means that the triathlon events have ended after much controversy.
Medley relay training was canceled at the last minute on Sunday due to concerns over the safety of the River Seine.
Organizers admitted that heavy rain had affected the river’s water quality, making it too unsafe for swimming.
Belgium was forced to withdraw from the main event after one athlete was hospitalized with an E. coli infection.
Claire Michel took part in the women’s triathlon last Wednesday and fell ill the next day.
Reports claim that Switzerland’s Adrien Briffod also fell seriously ill after the men’s competition.
Unlucky GB
This was not the first time the Great Britain team had been unlucky at the Paris Olympics.
Sprinter Jeremiah Azu was disqualified from the men’s 100m for a false start in his race after leaving his block 0.073 seconds before the gun.
Luke Greenbank was disqualified in the 200m backstroke for being underwater below the 15m mark at the start.
Emma Reid has been disqualified from the women’s -78kg judo competition after three penalties.
And Amber Jo Rutter missed out on women’s skeet gold in controversial circumstances.
She was judged to have missed one of the two shots, but insisted she did not miss the target.
Replays showed she clipped the skeet, but Olympic rules don’t allow decisions to be overturned.
What’s happening at the Games today?
WHAT TO WATCH TODAY
TODAY’S BRIT MEDALS OF HOPE
Keely Hodgkinson is among the favorites to win gold in the women’s 800m final (20.45), three years on from silver in Tokyo.
Kimberley Woods, Mallory Franklin and Joe Clarke could secure a triple header in the first Olympic kayak cross country final (3.55pm).
Great Britain will be hoping to retain their triathlon medley relay (7am) and the women’s cycling team sprint (6.55pm) offers a real chance for a medal on the opening day at the velodrome.
BRITONS TO WATCH
Sport climbing kicks off with four Brits – Hamish McArthur and 19-year-old sensation Toby Roberts starting with bouldering in the bouldering and lead discipline (9am).
The women’s hockey team awaits a nightmare quarterfinal against the all-conquering Netherlands (4:30 p.m.).
GLOBAL STARS TODAY
Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis will try to break his last world record once again in the men’s vault final (6 p.m.).
Men’s football reaches the semi-finals with hosts France and Egypt (20:00) after Spain vs. Morocco (17:00).
And this will be the last time we see Simone Biles in Paris. She will perform in the finals on beam (11:30 a.m.) and floor (1:20 p.m.).
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CRAZY STATISTICS
0 – A rule change for artistic swimming (formerly synchronized swimming) means men can now compete in the team event for the first time in Olympic history… but the new law didn’t come until 18 months later and exactly ZERO men were selected.
Follow all the action as it unfolds with our Paris 2024 Olympics LIVE blog.
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education