Alex Yee said he is “beyond proud” after a mural in Brockley was modified to celebrate his Olympic gold medal win.

Local boy Yee, Jess Learmonth, Jonny Brownlee and Georgia Taylor-Brown helped Team GB to first place in the mixed triathlon relay in Tokyo on Friday.

Lionel Stanhope, known for area signs which appear above or below railway bridges across south east London, transformed Brockley’s O into a gold medal to mark Yee’s achievement.

Taking to Twitter, Yee wrote: “Beyond proud. This is my home.”

More than 10,000 supporters have already liked the message.

Yee began in in an extremely strong position heading into the final leg of a 300 metres swim, 6.8 kilometres bike and 2km run, with a 22-second lead.

But hunting down the 23-year-old was French double world champion Vincent Luis, who produced a scintillating swim, catching Yee going into the second lap of the bike.

Yee managed to catch his wheel, though, and another impeccable transition saw him surge on to the run in first place.

He never looked like being caught, opening up an 11-second lead on the first lap as Luis’ efforts caught up with him and American Morgan Pearson moved into silver.

Yee was able to run alone down the finishing straight before celebrating with his jubilant team-mates.

News Shopper: Great Britain's Jonathan Brownlee, Alex Yee, Jessica Learmonth and Georgia Taylor Brown celebrate gold (PA)Great Britain's Jonathan Brownlee, Alex Yee, Jessica Learmonth and Georgia Taylor Brown celebrate gold (PA)

He admitted he panicked “a little bit” when he was caught by Luis, saying: “These guys did the perfect race up to that point so for me I just wanted to continue that.

“I knew Luis was coming fast and he’d worked quite hard. I knew at that point that I’d probably be able to get him on the run if I stayed with him on the bike. It was a big effort to get on to him at the start of the bike.

“I guess I played to my strengths and was a little bit cunning in a way but I’m really happy.”

Yee has spoken about what an inspiration seeing the Brownlees win medals in 2012 was for his own triathlon journey, but it was revealed afterwards that Luis played a part, too.

The Frenchman said: “Back in 2012, after I did my first Olympics, I got asked by a friend if I had any Olympic gear to give to a young guy starting triathlon and I just learned that it was Alex.

“This guy is the new man and you need to count on him. I would also like to thank Jonny Brownlee for everything he did for triathlon. That was amazing.”

Yee said: “I just remember receiving a parcel from France and thinking it was really quite odd at the time. But it was from Vince and he’d sent me some of his Olympic kit.

“I was so young at the time and I remember thinking ‘Wow, this is pretty amazing’. Somebody who’s inspired me so much. Vince is one of the people I look up to the most in the sport.

“It was pretty special. He’s just a legend.”

Have you got a story for us? You can contact us here.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

Sign up to our newsletters to get updates sent straight to your inbox.