When triathlete Alex Yee won his first Olympic silver medal in Tokyo in 2021 he said: “I still feel like a normal boy from south east London. I hope I can serve as inspiration to people to show this is possible. I’m not anything special, I just really enjoy sport and have been really lucky.”
Three years later, as he headed to Paris to attempt to upgrade his medal, Alex’s Instagram bio read, “Lewisham to the World.” When he returned home, he’d become the most decorated Olympic triathlete of all time.
Perhaps more than most elite athletes, Alex is eager to champion his roots and credit those who moulded his innate talent into world-beating greatness. Those first steps were taken at Crystal Palace Triathletes, where Alex was part of the club’s first cohort of juniors at the age of ten. Despite the triathlon being in its relative infancy (it wouldn’t become an Olympic sport until 2000), Alex was keen to emulate his father, as head coach Jon Horsman remembered.
“His dad was a member of the club and a lot of the junior members had parents who were adult members. We launched the junior section and he chipped away and just worked at it.” A young Alex showed promise but there was still an element of surprise at the result of one memorable race. “When he moved up into sprint distance triathlon he went to a race in Holten in Holland. He ended up coming second and it taught us all a lesson never to underestimate the athlete in front of you,” said Jon.
“It was such a dramatic result bearing in mind Alex had been lapped out in the British Triathlon Assessment Day in Loughborough three months earlier, so his goal was to just finish the race. It was a shock for him as well and from then on he started winning junior races and it snowballed from there.”
At 15, Alex was scouted by Kent Athletics Club when coach Ken Pike spotted his potential during an athletics open event. “Quite quickly, within three weeks, he was at the front of the A group. He was following two guys who were current England internationals,” said Ken.
“I’m not anything special, I just really enjoy sport and have been really lucky.”
ALEX LEE
Alex’s early success included a time of 14:40 minutes in the club 5,000m championships aged 16, but it was his quiet steeliness and unflappable nature that gave Ken the confidence that his apprentice would go on to great things. But a shocking bike crash during a triathlon in Italy resulted in broken ribs, a broken vertebrae and a collapsed lung. Alex’s burgeoning career was suddenly in jeopardy.
Not only did he overcome his injuries but, at only 27, the reigning world and Olympic champion has already achieved everything there is to win in his sport. Perhaps in part due to that traumatic setback, he’s never forgotten those who supported him. Even today, it’s not unusual for Alex to return to his clubs to represent them in competitions or join in training sessions.
These feelings of pride are mutual. Videos of Alex feature heavily on the Crystal Palace Triathletes website, while a large group of Kent AC runners travelled to Paris to watch him win gold. Just a few months later, the club renamed their ground and the champion was cheered into the Alex Yee Ladywell Arena by dozens of children from his old school. Those giving speeches included his former teachers and coaches, with whom Alex was determined to share his achievements: “They always say it takes a village to achieve amazing things and you guys are my village. Every single one of you has helped me get to this point. Hopefully this will be a reminder that you were part of that journey.”
True to form, Alex announced his intention to give back to those who supported him. In July 2025, the Alex Yee Triathlon saw more than 700 kids take part as the local hero launched his aptly-named charity Lewisham to the World. “The charity is aimed at empowering the young people of Lewisham to find their purpose using success stories from the very same people who grew up in their community,” Alex said. It was further proof that when grassroots clubs are able to thrive, they don’t simply nurture individuals. They strengthen communities, create opportunities and inspire hope.
Athletes Giving Back
Like Alex Yee, other sports stars are using their success to uplift communities. Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers athlete and 1998 Commonwealth triple jump bronze medallist Connie Henry founded Track Academy in 2007, supporting disadvantaged young Londoners through sport, education, and mentoring. Rugby legend Lawrence Dallaglio is behind RugbyWorks, helping excluded youth re-engage through rugby and educational pathways. The Rio Ferdinand Foundation was set up to address Rio’s lived experiences of inequality growing up in Peckham, South London. Then there’s distance runner Eilish McColgan, whose Giving Back to Track initiative offers scholarships to budding athletes at Eilish’s home club of Dundee Hawkhill Harriers.
