World Triathlon Series: Great Britain finish second behind Germany in mixed relay

Image source, SOPA Images

Image caption, GB's Sophie Coldwell came third in the individual event in Saturday

Great Britain finished second in the mixed relay at the World Triathlon Championship Series in Leeds.

Impressive legs by Sophie Coldwell and Georgia Taylor-Brown clinched a podium finish despite line-up changes, behind winners Germany, with France third.

Tom Bishop and Grant Sheldon were late substitutes for Alex Yee and Jonny Brownlee after the pair crashed in the individual event on Saturday.

"Stepping up last minute, I was pretty nervous," Bishop told 大象传媒 Sport.

Olympian Taylor-Brown added: "I've always wanted the glory leg - the boys always get it. When it became our turn, it's quite nerve-wracking because that's it then. No more to be done."

It was the first time the new relay formation of male, female, male, female was used.

The formation will be at the Commonwealth Games in July and August and at the Paris Olympics in 2024, and is different to the female, male, female, male formation used at Tokyo 2020.

Great Britain, who were gold medallists in Tokyo, were eighth after Bishop's leg but Coldwell finished hers in first.

Sheldon slipped back to eighth but Taylor-Brown, the only member of the gold-medal team to be involved in the race in Leeds, recovered to put Britain on the podium.

Germany finished first in a time of one hour 28 minutes in the Roundhay Park event - which counts towards Olympic qualification - with Great Britain 0.14 seconds behind and France a further 0.06secs adrift.

Yee was being checked for concussion and Brownlee fractured his elbow which meant they missed Sunday's relay.

Brownlee gave an update on his injury on social media but did not comment on whether he would be competing at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

"Another athlete crashed in front of me and I had nowhere to go," he said on Instagram. "Hit the ground hard and broke my elbow.

"I know these things happen in sport but the racing is definitely getting more dangerous and it is down to a select few athletes. We need to look after each other better."

New Zealand's Hayden Wilde apologised to Brownlee and Yee after Saturday's race and took responsibility for the crash on the bike leg of the triathlon.