British Olympic champion Alex Yee has received mixed reaction for his celebration after beating rival Hayden Wilde again in a close finish to the supertri race in Boston.
Yee and Wilde were locked in an epic battle for gold at the Paris Olympics just a few weeks ago.
The New Zealander held a 14-second lead over Yee with one lap remaining and the gap close dramatically in the closing stages before the Briton passed his rival with 400m remaining.
It was a repeat of their tense battle for silver three years prior at the Tokyo Olympics with Yee coming out on top that time as well.
Hayden Wilde looked unimpressed with Alex Yee
supertri
And the two rivals were once again going head-to-head in the opening supertri race of the year in Boston last weekend.
Yee once again left it late to pass Wilde and began celebrating before crossing the line.
The British athlete crossed his arms across his chest and ran through the finish line before walking up to the camera with a steely look in his face.
Wilde looked far from impressed with Yee’s celebration as he held out his arms to the side and stared down his rival with a bemused look.
The clip also caused a stir online with Yee being criticised for showing a lack of respect.
One message read: “Unnecessary, looks pretty disrespectful to me. Pride, falls etc. Karma usually has a pretty efficient way of dealing with this.”
Another person posted: “A bit graceless.”
A third complained: “Massively disrespectful.”
Alex Yee pipped Hayden Wilde to the line once again
GETTY
One other person posted: “Winning gracefully definitely not in the UK DNA.”
However, others were thrilled to see some showmanship from the Olympic champion.
“Love it,” one post read.
“Generational confidence from Yee,” another said.
“Love it, need more showboating like this,” a third replied.
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Alex Yee won Olympic gold in the men’s triathlon a few weeks ago
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Wilde cut a frustrated figure after the race and already has his eyes on revenge in the next supertri race.
“Close isn’t good enough,” he said.
“I think I’ve been seeing too many silvers in the last couple of weeks so it would be nice to get a gold so bring on Chicago.”
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