Great Britain ended the first day of the 2023 World Triathlon Championship Series with gold medals for Beth Potter and Alex Yee in the Elite Women's and Men's races in Abu Dhabi.
In the absence of reigning champion Flora Duffy, Potter - the 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist - finished with 57 minutes and 56 seconds on the clock to cross the line in first place ahead of compatriot Sophie Coldwell (58:14).
The USA's Taylor Spivey clocked 58:27 to finish in third place, but Georgia Taylor-Brown - last year's overall silver medallist - was down in 15th with a time of 59:08.
Speaking to the press after the race, Potter said: "It's always a bit of an unknown the first race of the season, but I've been training well and Jonny (Brownlee) texted me last night and said 'you're gonna win' and I couldn't believe it, I just wanted to do my best having worked not just on the physical side but also the mental. I feel much more calm, positive and aggressive racing."
Later on Friday, 2022 world silver medallist and Olympic runner-up Yee produced the goods in a phenomenal 5km run to win with 52:53 on the clock.
The 25-year-old ended with a six-second advantage over Portuguese silver medallist Vasco Vilaca, while Brazil's Manoel Messias (53:06) placed third, and last year's overall champion Leo Bergere finished sixth with 53:15 on the board.
Ben Knapton
