How Alistair Brownlee’s success was forged from a young age
The multiple Olympic and world champion was a prolific junior athlete before he focused solely on triathlon
Alistair Brownlee’s retirement marks the end of an illustrious career and leaves a legacy that will stand the test of time.
The 36-year-old, who is the only athlete to secure two Olympic titles in individual triathlon, dominated the sport for a decade.
As well as triumphing at London 2012 and Rio 2016, Brownlee became a double world individual triathlon champion and also claimed two team titles on the global stage.
Brownlee’s superiority continued at the European Championships and Commonwealth Games, with the Brit securing four titles in the former and then two – one of which was in the mixed relay – in the latter.
Alistair Brownlee (Getty)
“Triathlon has profoundly shaped my life; I have dedicated nearly half of it to being a professional athlete, fulfilling my childhood dream and achieving far more than I ever dared to imagine,” Brownlee stated on his Instagram.
“Why now? It feels right. I am happy and content, eager for what lies ahead. I find myself smiling because it happened, rather than crying because it’s over.
“I look forward to embracing a slightly slower pace of life, yet not too slow. There’s an exciting array of events, challenges and adventures awaiting me – things I’ve always wanted to have a crack at but haven’t had the chance to pursue. For me, sport has always been a personal journey of exploration, and I’m excited to try some new challenges.”
Alistair Brownlee (left) (Mark Shearman)
Throughout his career, Brownlee was synonymous with his agility and stamina, blowing opponents away during the 10km run in the triathlon.
The greatest example of this was at London 2012, in which Brownlee dropped Spain’s Javier Gómez with 3km to go, clocking an incredible 29:07 on the streets of the British capital.
That is still the fastest 10km in an Olympic triathlon since the event made its debut at Sydney 2000.
Brownlee’s ability to push the boundaries in the latter stages of the event, even after having completed the swim and cycle, shouldn’t be surprising.
Jonny and Alistair Brownlee (Getty)
After being introduced to triathlon at a young age by his uncle Simon Hearnshaw, who regularly competed in the sport, Brownlee never looked back.
Running for Bingley AC, located just six miles from where he grew up in Bradford, the then teenager became the 2006 English Schools cross country champion, seeing off the challenges of Ricky Stevenson and Mark Burgess.
Brownlee, who finished 14th in the previous year’s edition, told AW at the time: “I ran really badly at the Inter-Counties. But I was feeling a bit under the weather and perhaps should not have ran.”
Alistair Brownlee (Mark Shearman)
Over time, Brownlee became a prolific cross-country runner and finished second at the 2008 English National Cross Country Championships, before representing Great Britain on the European stage in 2009, placing 48th overall.
Brownlee also donned the colours of Bingley AC at the 2011 Northern Men’s 12 Stage Relays, running 21:45 over the four and a half mile course.
A year later, Brownlee became the Olympic triathlon champion at London 2012 and afterwards, he and brother Jonny – who claimed bronze at those Games – launched the Brownlee Foundation, a charity created to inspire children from all backgrounds to take up the sport.
The brothers competed against each other on multiple occasions, with Alistair finishing just six seconds ahead of Jonny in a 1-2 finish at Rio 2016.
That same year, Alistair helped Jonny over the finish line at the Triathlon World Series event in Mexico, when his younger brother wobbled on the home straight.
Alistair and Jonny Brownlee (Getty)
With Jonny leading, Alistair – in third place at the time – propped his brother up for the final 700m and assisted him over the line.
The elder Brownlee didn’t make it to the Tokyo Olympics after an ankle injury forced him to miss the Games.
READ MORE: Incredible work ethic that drove Alistair Brownlee to the top
Brownlee, who has already inspired the current generation of triathletes like Alex Yee and Georgia Taylor-Brown, can retire in the comfort that the baton has well and truly been passed over.
His success, like so many of the current crop, was forged on those muddy courses in places like Mansfield, Liverpool and Leeds.
You can also find all of our original coverage from Alistair Brownlee’s cross-country events, via the Athletics Weekly archive.
From the first ever issue in December 1945 through to the present day, current subscribers to our magazine are able to dip into this resource for free whereas non-subscribers can pay just £3.99 per month for full access.
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