Paris (AFP) – France and Britain dominated the podiums in the Olympics triathlon on Wednesday, which finally began in the Seine after days of suspense over whether the river would be clean enough for racing. Cassandre Beaugrand took the women's gold ahead of Switzerland's Julie Derron and Britain's third-placed Beth Potter..
In the men's competition, which had to be delayed by 24 hours after the Seine failed water tests, Alex Yee stormed to a dramatic victory by passing rival and friend Hayden Wilde from New Zealand in the final stretch..
Frenchman Leo Bergere finished third. "I started to find my legs with about 3k to go and I said to myself 'I'll give myself one last chance to make this happen'," Yee told reporters of his late surge, adding that British legend Alistair Brownlee had shouted him on during the last lap..
All the attention during the build-up had been on the Seine, which was the centrepriece of a spectacular course that included a biking and running route through the historic heart of the French capital..
The Seine has been too dirty for swimming all week after Paris was deluged by rain during the opening ceremony of the Games on Friday, with the equivalent of a month's rain falling over 36 hours..
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