Beth Potter secured a hard-fought Olympic bronze medal for Britain’s triathlon stars, despite being dramatically demoted from silver on a hectic Monday morning in Paris.

The Scot, who also won bronze in her individual race last week, ran the final leg of this thrilling mixed relay and although Team GB was initially awarded silver, they were eventually relegated to third place in an agonising photo finish.

Germany took gold, while the USA, which featured cycling superstar Taylor Knibb on its final stage, narrowly overtook Potter in a sprint on Paris’ iconic Pont Alexandre III to secure silver.

Potter, Alex Yee, Georgia Taylor-Brown and Sam Dickinson thought they had finished second after the result was shown and confirmed on the big screens.

But moments later, word spread that the Americans had beaten them in a thrilling photo finish, while Great Britain, the defending champions of this innovative new discipline from Tokyo, took bronze.

Potter, 32, the 2023 world champion, said of the confusion: “We thought it would be silver at the end and then there seemed to be a delay.

“I think then they looked at the photo finish and gave us bronze.

“The running course was tough and I think I was a bit tired from the cycling.

“I lost touch a bit on the first stage, but then I was able to get back into the race and gave it my all in the last 200 meters.

“I thought we might have silver, but we got bronze. It’s still a medal.”

Yee, who won the men’s singles gold medal in a dramatic singles match last week, added: “There was a bit of confusion at first, but I guess they just hadn’t fully seen the photo finish yet.

“Of course we are biased. We would have liked the silver medal, but we are incredibly proud of the bronze medal.

“The efforts that Beth made on the last stage were pretty heroic. Overall it was a fantastic day for us and an amazing spectacle.”

Due to the high level of pollution in the Seine, there was great uncertainty in the run-up to the Games regarding the course of the triathlon competitions in Paris.

The men’s race was postponed by 24 hours – to the same day as the women’s – but after several days of sunshine in the French capital, the start of the mixed relay on Monday never seemed in danger.

For most of the competition, Britain and Germany were locked in a tough battle at the front, with Yee, 26, and Taylor-Brown, a Tokyo individual silver medallist who finished sixth in the women’s race last week, getting off to a fast start.

Dickinson delivered a solid third stage and although Potter inherited a five-second lead for the final, she was soon caught by Knibb and Germany’s Laura Lindemann on the bike.

This set the stage for a thrilling sprint run, but Germany, who had finished sixth in Tokyo while Yee, Taylor-Brown, Jonny Brownlee and Jess Learmonth took gold, had the edge when Knibb narrowly beat Potter to take silver.

Yee, who won silver in the individual event in Tokyo, was able to enjoy the Games in Paris after a dramatic last-minute overtaking move to grab gold in the men’s event, overtaking his New Zealand rival Hayden Wilde.

However, he stresses that he will not be carried away by the increased media attention and wants to continue to inspire the next generation of aspiring triathlon talents.

“I’m still the same guy,” he said.

“I just enjoy my sport and the biggest reward for me is that hopefully we have inspired a new generation to play our sport and fall in love with the Olympics like we all did when we were younger.

“This is really something special.”

Potter, Yee and Taylor-Brown are the big triathlon names on the British team in Paris, but for Dickinson it was an Olympic debut that the York star enjoyed to the fullest.

The 27-year-old was part of the English team that won the gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and helped Team GB take a silver medal in the mixed relay at the World Triathlon Championship Series in Montreal in June 2022.

Although he did not finish the individual race in the French capital last week, he enjoyed the experience of helping his teammates to a medal.

“My entire Olympics were geared towards today,” he said.

“I am overjoyed for the team that we have reached this position and it is incredible to win a medal.

“The third leg of a season is my job and that’s exactly what I did here. I’m really happy with that.”

Taylor-Brown, 30, added: “I think that’s all we could have asked for really.

“We are super, super, super proud of each other and we all gave our best performance.

“Beth definitely outdid herself at the end to get back to those two. So it’s super, super impressive.”

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