Featured Image Credit: YouTube/supertri
Topics: Olympics, Social Media, News, Sport, Twitter
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Olympics, Social Media, News, Sport, Twitter
British athlete Alex Yee has come under fire for his 'unacceptable' celebration following a recent win.
26-year-old Yee recently won the men's triathlon at the Olympics on July 31, and has since proven victorious once again.
While many people would want a rest after such a huge event, Yee took part in yesterday's supertri in Boston (August 18) and took first place.
At both the Olympics and at the event in Boston, he pipped New Zealand's Hayden Wilde to the post, something which he didn't looked very pleased about yesterday in light of Yee's controversial celebration.
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As the pair were approaching the finish line and it was clear that Yee had bagged first place, the British athlete crossed his arms across his chest and ran up to the camera that caught his victorious moment on camera.
Wilde was hot on his heels and saw Yee's celebration, and it's safe to say he wasn't very pleased about it.
Seeing his unusual arm-crossing celebration, Wilde, also 26, threw up his arms as if to say 'what the hell?' and proceeded to give Yee a dirty look.
And people online have had a similar response to Wilde, with one person labeling Yee's celebration as 'totally unacceptable'.
"No wonder the guy in second has the hump. Zero class. Absolute tool," wrote a second.
"Massively disrespectful," said a third, while a different person commented: "That sort of behavior is not on, it ruins the sportsmanship and why we all watch. We need more respect in sport."
Meanwhile others hailed his celebration as 'cold', but some people saw no issue with Yee's reaction.
"It's an excellent celebration," one person insisted.
"I have no issues with that," wrote someone else. "British sportspeople are so often the plucky loser. Happy for a bit of arrogance in a winner for a change."
Noting that they'd seen similar celebrations in soccer games, another sports fan said: "Can celebrate a win however he wants? Seen that celebration loads of times in football. What’s the difference?"
A rep for Yee has been contacted amid the backlash he's received.
Speaking after his gold medal win in Paris, Yee admitted that he wasn't sure how he'd achieved it when asked by Olympics.com.
"It was just one of those magic moments where you hear about these Olympic moments and people finding extra stuff within themselves," he continued. "It was just one of those where I just decided that I was going to give myself one last chance just to do it.
"If I did that, then I gave myself a shot. And if I come 10th, that's fine. If I come last, that's fine. I guess it went beyond my wildest dreams."