New Zealand's silver medallist in the men's triathlon, Hayden Wilde, has revealed what he said to one of his "biggest rivals" in the sport and gold medal winner Alex Yee immediately following the Olympic race.
An incredible performance saw Wilde, 26, hold the gold medal position before eventually being caught just 200m from the finish line by his old friend and rival Alex Yee of Britain.
"I told him, we finally didn't choke on a grand stage!" he laughed.
Wilde told Breakfast he had been on an "adrenaline roll" since taking the silver medal, including having a burger with his family who had flown over to support him in the race that was postponed due to water quality in the Seine.
"I feel like if it was an 8am race the heat wouldn't have got to me and it could have been a different story but hey, I can't be disappointed with a silver and stoked to have that race and shake [Yee] in his boots a little bit."
"We've kind of grown together in the same kind of progression rate over the sport and both of us could be proud of what we'd done.
"We might have one of the biggest rivalries in our sport, but you know, we're great mates behind the scenes and we like to keep it that way, keep it fair on the pitch."
He admitted the Paris heat was a challenge and "caught up with him" toward the end of the race.
"I just imploded from inside and just had nothing left in the tank, I gave it absolutely everything and it was just so nice for us to have a race with no penalties, no nothing it was just a foot race and the better man won and I gave it everything.
Wilde had previously told 1News he "could not have asked for a better teammate" in Dylan McCullough, who finished 19th after hanging back to help Wilde after the swim leg.
"I look back and I'm just so appreciative to Dylan, the way he attacked the race and helped me get into a position where I had fresher legs coming into the bike.
"Then I just knew it was my time to attack Alex and it was the first time we'd gotten to race each other and I just had this sense that I needed to go," he said.
He said there were "so many Kiwis out there" supporting him.
"It was definitely a memory I'll keep deep inside and the whole team put an absolute masterclass on."
Wilde showed off his medal, saying it was "a one up from Tokyo, so it would be rude not to get the trio" with a gold medal in the future.
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