Team GB have medal downgraded to bronze after race ended in dramatic scenes
Team GB have narrowly missed out on another silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics after the USA challenged the official result of the mixed triathlon relay in a tense finish.
The nail-biting race - which saw competitors go against each other in swimming, cycling, and running - came down to the wire after almost 90 minutes of athletes doing what they do best.
Germany comfortably won gold, moving away from Great Britain and USA on the final stretch to the finish line.
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Silver, at first, was awarded to Team GB as Beth Potter and the USA's Taylor Knibb finished side by side in one of the closest of photo finishes you're likely to ever see.
GB had won the first ever mixed triathlon relay back in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with confidence high when it came to holding on to gold once again.
But the pace of Germany's Laura Lindemann in the final stretch was too much for Potter and Knibb, who were left fighting it out for the other two podium spots.
Potter was initially given second place, but following a review of the photo finish by race officials she was downgraded to bronze.
Individual men’s champion Alex Yee gave the British team the perfect start, while Georgia Taylor-Brown - who like Yee was a member of the Tokyo quartet that won in 2021 - and Sam Dickinson kept them in front around the streets of Paris.
There was again doubt about whether the race would take place as scheduled after another drop in water quality in the Seine, while Belgium were forced to withdrew because of illness to one of their athletes, Claire Michel.
However, as per BBC Sport, she has not contracted E. coli.
Team USA challenged the final result, claiming to have pipped GB's Potter to silver.
The challenge was successful, with a photo finish of the race showing Knibb had won the silver medal by the smallest of margins.
British triathlon performance director, Mike Cavendish, told the BBC: "I think what's happened is that, when they've come across the line, we'll look at a video still which isn't the most accurate picture. Then it's gone to the official photo finish and it's shown the Americans have got it just by an absolute whisker ahead of us.
"When it's as close as that, you're always going to have to go to a photo finish, and it's relatively rare in triathlon that it goes to a photo finish. That's probably why it takes a little bit longer. They might be a little bit disappointed... but ultimately a bronze medal is an amazing achievement. To be completely frank it was just an incredible advert for the sport to have such a brilliant finish and a brilliant race."
Some weren't convinced at the actions of the USA given how close it was.
On X (formerly Twitter), one viewer wrote: "The Olympic thing to do would be to share the silver? It’s known to do so as it required a photo finish and if a team disputes it after the officials decide their verdict. It’s only fair.
"Unsporting in my opinion from USA in the mixed triathlon."
Another said: "Should have been gold but how have they overturned anything based on that?"
Other Team GB fans were annoyed given the controversy that surrounded Amber Rutter winning silver yesterday (4 August) in the women's skeet final.
In a play-off for the gold medal, officials running the shooting competition said Rutter missed a target despite slow motion replays showing she had clearly hit it.
She contested the call but shooting's version of VAR is not in use at the Olympics, so the judges did not overturn the decision. Rutter eventually lost out on gold by one shot.
After the triathlon result, one Team GB fan wrote: "So they’ll review that to downgrade us but not review Amber Rutter yesterday."
A second said: "So they re-evaluate the triathlon finish and medals but they couldn’t use VAR for the shooting when the target was clearly hit? Right."
Team GB's current medal count - 38
Gold medallists
- Rosalind Canter, Laura Collett, Tom McEwen: Equestrian - Eventing team
- Tom Pidcock: Mountain Bike - Men's cross country
- Nathan Hales: Shooting - Men's trap
- Tom Dean, Kieran Bird, James Guy, Jack McMillan, Matthew Richards, Duncan Scott: Swimming - Men's 4x200m freestyle
- Alex Yee: Men's triathlon
- Lauren Henry, Lola Anderson, Hannah Scott and Georgina Brayshaw: Rowing - Women's quadruple sculls
- Bryony Page: Gymnastics - Women's individual trampoline
- Emily Craig and Imogen Grant: Rowing - Women's lightweight double sculls
- Ben Maher, Harry Charles and Scott Brash: Equestrian - Team jumping
- Sholto Carnegie, Rory Gibbs, Morgan Bolding, Jacob Dawson, Charlie Elwes, Tom Digby, James Rudkin and Tom Ford: Rowing: Men's eight
Silver medallists
- Anna Henderson: Cycling - Women's individual time trial
- Adam Peaty: Swimming - Men's 100m breaststroke
- Tom Daley and Noah Williams: Diving - Men's synchronised 10m platform
- Adam Burgess: Canoe Slalom - Men's canoe single
- Matthew Richards: Swimming - Men's 200m freestyle
- Kieran Reilly: Cycling - Men's BMX Freestyle
- Helen Glover, Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten: Rowing - Women's coxless four
- Oliver Wynne-Griffith and Thomas George: Rowing - Men's pair
- Benjamin Proud: Swimming - Men's 50m freestyle
- Duncan Scott: Swimming - Men's 200m individual medley
- Amber Rutter: Shooting - Women's skeet
- Tommy Fleetwood: Golf - Men's individual stroke play
Bronze medallists
- Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen: Diving - Women's synchronised 3m springboard
- Kimberley Woods: Canoe - Women's slalom
- Laura Collett: Equestrian - Eventing individual
- Beth Potter: Women's triathlon
- Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson: Diving - Women's synchronised 10m platform
- Oliver Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson: Rowing - Men's coxless four
- Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne and Becky Wilde: Rowing - Women's double sculls
- Jack Laugher and Anthony Harding: Diving - men's synchronised 3m springboard
- Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Holly Dunford, Emily Ford, Lauren Irwin, Eve Stewart, Harriet Taylor and Annie Campbell-Orde - Rowing: Women's eight
- Emma Wilson: Sailing: Women's windsurfing
- Jake Jarman: Artistic gymnastics - Men's floor exercise
- Lottie Fry, Becky Moody and Carl Hester: Equestrian - Team Grand Prix Special
- Alex Wilson-Haydock, Laviai Nielsen, Samuel Reardon, Nicole Yeargin: Athletics - Mixed 4x400m relay
- Lottie Fry and Glamourdale: Equestrian - Individual dressage
- Harry Hepworth: Artistic gymnastics - Men's vault
- Alex Yee, Georgia Taylor-Brown, Samuel Dickinson and Beth Potter: Triathlon - Mixed relay
Topics: Olympics, Sport, World News
Tom Earnshaw