Alistair Brownlee wins gold for Britain in men's triathlon

by liamssoft | August 7, 2012 at 05:45 am

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A triathlon course taking in Constitution Hill, Wellington Arch, Buckingham Palace was an appropriately grand setting in which to write a new chapter in British sporting history as Alistair and Jonny Brownlee became the first Britons to win medals in a triathlon.

Not only did Alistair Brownlee become the Briton to win an Olympic triathlon medal but his brother, Jonny, overcame a 15-second penalty to also take bronze. Sandwiched between the two Yorkshire brothers was Javier Gomez, himself a double world champion, and one of the greats of triathlon history.

While the Brownlees’ achievement is clearly colossal, what most impressed was the manner in which it was achieved. There had been much pre-race talk of tactics, and of other countries ganging up to try and disadvantage the two brothers (which they did), but the bottom line was that, short of tripping one of them up, there was nothing they could do.

With crowds along the course estimated at 200,000, the Brownlee brothers, as well as their domestique Stuart Hayes, had been introduced to cheers at 11.30am that echoed through much of central London.

Source: telegraph.co.uk