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Alistair Brownlee

For the radio presenter, see Ali Brownlee.

Alistair Brownlee
MBE
Brownlee at Our Greatest Team Parade in 2012
Personal information
NicknameAl
Born (1988-04-23) 23 April 1988 (age 36)[1]
Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England
EducationBradford Grammar School, University of Leeds & Leeds Metropolitan University
Height1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Weight70 kg (154 lb)[2]
Sport
CountryEngland / Great Britain
ClubBingley Harriers[3]
Leeds Metropolitan University
TeamCorus
Coached byMalcolm Brown
Jack Maitland[4]
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
Men's triathlon
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Individual
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Individual
ITU Triathlon World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2009 Gold Coast Individual
Gold medal – first place 2011 Lausanne Team
Gold medal – first place 2011 Beijing Individual
Gold medal – first place 2014 Hamburg Team
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Lausanne Sprint
Ironman 70.3 World Championship
Silver medal – second place 2019 Nice Individual
Silver medal – second place 2018 Port Elizabeth Individual
European Triathlon Championships
Gold medal – first place 2010 Athlone Individual
Gold medal – first place 2011 Pontevedra Individual
Gold medal – first place 2014 Kitzbuhel Individual
Gold medal – first place 2019 Weert Individual
ITU Triathlon Junior World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2006 Lausanne Junior
Gold medal – first place 2008 Vancouver U23
Silver medal – second place 2007 Hamburg Junior
European Junior Triathlon Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Autun Junior
Gold medal – first place 2007 Copenhagen Junior
Men's duathlon
ITU Duathlon World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2006 Corner Brook Junior
Men's aquathlon
ITU Aquathlon World Championships
Gold medal – first place Cozumel 2016 Individual
Representing  England
Men's triathlon
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Glasgow Triathlon
Gold medal – first place 2014 Glasgow Mixed team relay
Silver medal – second place 2018 Gold Coast Mixed team relay

Alistair Edward Brownlee MBE (born 23 April 1988) is an English former triathlete. He is the only athlete to hold two Olympic titles in the individual triathlon event, winning gold medals in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. He is also a four-time World Champion in triathlon being Triathlon World Champion twice (2009, 2011) and World Team Champion (2011, 2014) twice, a four-time European Champion (2010, 2011, 2014, 2019), and the 2014 Commonwealth champion. Brownlee is the only male athlete, (and one of the two athletes with Cassandre Beaugrand), to have completed a grand slam of Olympic, World, and continental championships. Brownlee is also a one-time world champion in aquathlon. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest male Triathletes ever.

His younger brother Jonathan Brownlee is also a decorated triathlete. Along with long-time Spanish rivals Mario Mola and Javier Gómez, and Frenchman Vincent Luis, the Brownlee brothers were considered the dominant male Olympic distance triathletes of the 2010s, and the Brownlees were particularly dominant in the Olympic triathlon races themselves, winning three gold, one silver and one bronze medal between them.

Brownlee was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to sport.[5][6] Brownlee retired from triathlon in November 2024.[7][8]

Early life and education

Brownlee was educated at Bradford Grammar School,[9] a co-educational independent school in the city of Bradford in Yorkshire. He then started a medicine degree at Girton College, Cambridge,[10] but left after just the first term having decided instead to study Sports Science and Physiology at the University of Leeds, where he gained his degree in 2010.[10][11][12] He also completed a MSc in Finance in 2013 at Leeds Metropolitan University.[11][13][14]

His father Keith was a runner, while his mother Cathy was a swimmer.[15] The eldest of three boys, he has two younger brothers, Jonathan and Edward (b.1995). His younger brother Jonathan Brownlee is also a triathlete, winning the bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, the silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and a gold medal in the mixed relay triathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics and his youngest brother Edward is also a keen sportsman but prefers rugby and water polo over the triathlon.[16]

Brownlee was introduced to triathlon at a young age by his uncle Simon Hearnshaw, who regularly competed in the sport. As a junior, he was a successful fell[17] and cross country runner, coming second in the Junior English Cross Country Championships[18][19] and winning the Yorkshire County title on several occasions.[20][21]

He has said that "It was only when I won the World Junior Championships in 2006 that I made the conscious decision to really focus on triathlon".[22] This was when Brownlee left Cambridge to move back to Yorkshire, focus on triathlon and study at the University of Leeds. He described his decision to leave Cambridge to a student newspaper there in 2013, saying "trying to fit 30+ hours of training around my degree was pretty impossible. I decided that triathlon was my true passion, so I moved back to study at Leeds on a less demanding course, and in a city where the sport was well supported at the time by British Triathlon".[22] He was a member of the triathlon club based at Leeds Metropolitan University's Carnegie High Performance centre,[4] and was coached by Carnegie Director of Sport Malcolm Brown, and in swimming by Jack Maitland.[4]

Triathlon career

Alistair Brownlee wins the Hyde Park Triathlon, London, August 2011

Brownlee represented Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the triathlon event, finishing in 12th place and first British competitor. During the 2008 season, his best world cup finish was 3rd place in Madrid and he also won the under-23 world championship.

He won the 2009 ITU Triathlon World Championship, winning all five of the season's ITU World Championship Series events in which he competed. He was victorious in Madrid, Washington D.C, Kitzbühel and London before winning the 2009 season Grand Final, held on Australia's Gold Coast on 12 September[23][24] and thereby became the first person to win the ITU world Triathlon titles for Junior Men (2006), Under 23 Men (2008) and Senior Men (2009).[25]

During the 2010 off season, Brownlee sustained a stress fracture of the femur and was not able to return to competition until June, which made defence of his ITU title almost impossible.[26] He did however mark his return to competitive triathlon with a convincing win in Madrid, followed a month later with the European Triathlon Union (ETU) Championships title.[27] Collapsing with exhaustion at the London race[28] in late July, meant that despite winning the final race of the 2010 ITU Series in Budapest, he lost his overall World Championship title to Javier Gómez.

In the April opening event of the 2011 ITU Championship season in Sydney, Brownlee suffered a heavy fall while in the lead which brought early disappointment and a 29th-place finish.[29] This was contrasted with outstanding success when, in the space of just twenty-one days during June 2011, he convincingly won the next two ITU series events (in Madrid[30] and Kitzbühel[31]) and, following a puncture whilst in the lead and having to make up more than 30 seconds on the new leaders, successfully defended his European title at the 2011 Pontevedra ETU Triathlon European Championships and shared the podium with his brother Jonathan, who took the silver medal.[32][33] Alistair won the 2011 ITU world title, after winning the Grand Final in Beijing and the gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics,[34] while his brother took the bronze medal.

Brownlee won the Commonwealth Games Triathlon in 2014, controlling the race with his brother from the start, before pulling away on the first lap of the run in dominating style; Jonathan took the silver medal.[35] Brownlee also took gold in the mixed triathlon team relay at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, with brother Jonathan, Vicky Holland and Jodie Stimpson.[36]

At the final race of the 2016 World Triathlon Series in Cozumel, Mexico, his brother Jonathan, who had been leading comfortably as they headed into the final kilometre of the 10 km run, began to show the effects of heat and exhaustion, weaving across the course and appearing to be on the verge of collapse. Alistair abandoned his own chance of winning the race, instead opting to assist his brother over the line, finally pushing him to a second-place finish and coming in third himself. The South African Henri Schoeman, who had won bronze behind the Brownlees in Rio, overtook the Brownlee brothers to win the race.[37]

Brownlee made his long-course debut at the half-iron distance Challenge Mogan-Gran Canaria triathlon in April 2017, which he won in a time of 4:03:09, finishing over eight minutes ahead of the runner-up.[38][39] He took another win the following month when he triumphed in the North American Ironman 70.3 Championships in St. George, Utah, which secured his place in the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in September 2017.[40]

Brownlee placed second at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in 2018 and 2019.

Brownlee announced his retirement from triathlon on 21 November 2024.[7][8]

Titles

  • Seven time Yorkshire Cross Country Champion (U13–Senior)
  • Seven time Yorkshire fellrunning champion
  • Five time Chevin Chase winner.
  • 2006 Junior European Duathlon Champion
  • 2006 Junior World Champion[4][41]
  • 2007 Junior European Champion[42]
  • 2007 Junior World Vice-Champion[43]
  • 2008 U23 World Champion[44][45]
  • 2009 Hyde Park Triathlon Champion[46]
  • 2009 British National Elite Duathlon Champion
  • 2009 ITU World Champion[23]
  • 2010 ETU European Champion[27]
  • 2011 World Team Champion
  • 2011 ETU European Champion[33]
  • 2011 ITU World Champion[23]
  • 2012 World Team Champion
  • 2012 Olympic Champion
  • 2014 European Champion
  • 2014 World Team Champion
  • 2014 Commonwealth Games Champion
  • 2014 Commonwealth Games Team Gold
  • 2016 Olympic Champion
  • 2016 Aquathlon Champion[47]

ITU competitions

In the six years from 2005 to 2010, Alistair Brownlee took part in 31 ITU competitions and achieved 24 top ten positions, among which were 13 gold medals, 5 silver medals, and 2 bronze medals.

  • 2008, won the U23 World Championship and placed 12th at the Olympic Games in Beijing.
  • 2009, won the Dextro Energy World Championship Series placing first in almost all of the circuit's triathlons (i.e. Madrid, Washington DC, Kitzbühel, London, and Gold Coast).
  • 2010, opened the season with the European Championship gold medal but subsequently had to put up with a stress fracture of the femur.
  • 2011, won the World Championship Series triathlons in Madrid and Kitzbühel, leading the ITU World Championship ranking, and crowned himself again European Elite Champion.

The following list is based upon the official ITU rankings and the ITU Athlete's Profile Page.[48] Unless indicated otherwise, the following events are triathlons (Olympic Distance) and refer to the Elite category.

Date Competition Place Rank
  23 July 2005   European Championships (Junior) Alexandroupoli(s)[49] 19
  24 July 2005   European Championships (Junior Relay) Alexandroupoli(s)[50] 6
  10 September 2005   World Championships (Junior) Gamagori 41
  23 June 2006   European Championships (Junior) Autun 3
  8 July 2006   Junior European Cup Rijeka 1
  29 July 2006   Duathlon World Championships (Junior) Corner Brook 2
  2 September 2006   World Championships (Junior) Lausanne 1
  7 October 2006   Duathlon European Championships Rimini 1
  19 May 2007   Duathlon World Championships (Junior) Győr 2
  16 June 2007   Duathlon European Championships (Junior) Edinburgh DNS
  29 June 2007   European Championships (Junior) Copenhagen 1
  29 July 2007   BG World Cup Salford 20
  30 August 2007   BG World Championships (Junior) Hamburg 2
  7 October 2007   BG World Cup Rhodes 2
  30 March 2008   BG World Cup Mooloolaba 43
  6 April 2008   BG World Cup New Plymouth 49
  10 May 2008   European Championships Lisbon 15
  25 May 2008   BG World Cup Madrid 3
  5 June 2008   BG World Championships (U23) Vancouver 1
  22 June 2008   World Cup Hy-Vee 7
  18 August 2008   Olympic Games Beijing 12
  31 May 2009   Dextro Energy World Championship Series Madrid 1
  21 June 2009   Dextro Energy World Championship Series Washington DC 1
  2 July 2009   ETU European Championships Holten 2
  11 July 2009   Dextro Energy World Championship Series Kitzbühel 1
  15 August 2009   Dextro Energy World Championship Series London 1
  9 September 2009   Dextro Energy World Championship Series, Grand Final Gold Coast 1
  5 June 2010   Dextro Energy World Championship Series Madrid 1
  3 July 2010   ETU European Championships Athlone 1
  24 July 2010   Dextro Energy World Championship Series London 10
  14 August 2010   Dextro Energy World Championship Series Kitzbühel 40
  8 September 2010   Dextro Energy World Championship Series, Grand Final Budapest 1
  9 April 2011   Dextro Energy World Championship Series Sydney 29
  4 June 2011   Dextro Energy World Championship Series Madrid 1
  18 June 2011   Dextro Energy World Championship Series Kitzbühel 1
  24 June 2011   ETU European Championships Pontevedra 1
  7 August 2011   Dextro Energy World Championship Series London 1
  20 August 2011   Dextro Energy Sprint World Championships Lausanne 1
  21 August 2012   ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships Lausanne 1
  10 September 2011   Dextro Energy World Championship Grand Final Beijing 1
  24 June 2012   ITU World Triathlon Series Kitzbühel 1
  7 August 2012   Olympic Games London 1
  19 April 2013   ITU World Triathlon Series San Diego 1
  6 July 2013   ITU World Triathlon Series Kitzbühel 1
  20 July 2013   ITU World Triathlon Series Hamburg 2
  21 July 2013   ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships Hamburg DNF
  24 August 2013   ITU World Triathlon Series Stockholm 1
  11 September 2013   ITU World Triathlon Series Grand Final London 52
  17 May 2014   ITU World Triathlon Series Yokohama 4
  31 May 2014   ITU World Triathlon Series London 4
  20 June 2014   ETU World Triathlon Series Kitzbühel 1
  12 July 2014   ITU World Triathlon Series Hamburg 1
  13 July 2014   ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships Hamburg 1
  24 July 2014   Commonwealth Games Glasgow 1
  24 July 2014   Commonwealth Games Mixed Relay Glasgow 1
  23 August 2014   ITU World Triathlon Series (Sprint) Stockholm 2
  29 August 2014   ITU World Triathlon Series Grand Final Edmonton 1
  25 April 2015   ITU World Triathlon Series Cape Town 1
  16 May 2015   ITU World Triathlon Series Yokohama 2
  30 May 2015   ITU World Triathlon Series (Sprint) London 1
  2 August 2015   ITU Olympic Qualification Event Rio de Janeiro 10
  9 April 2016   ITU World Triathlon Series Gold Coast 36
  11 June 2016   ITU World Triathlon Series Leeds 1
  2 July 2016   ITU World Triathlon Series Stockholm 1
  18 August 2016   Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro 1

Key: BG = British Gas (the sponsor); DNF = Did not finish; DNS = Did not start; U23 = Under 23

French Club Championship Series

In 2010, only the femur fracture could slow Brownlee's dominance for some time. At the opening triathlon in Dunkirk (23 May 2010), Alistair was not present, his brother Jonathan won the gold medal. At Beauvais (13 June 2010) Alistair placed 9th. At the Triathlon de Paris (18 July 2010), however, and at Tourangeaux (29 August 2010), Brownlee won the gold medals again. At the Grand Final in La Baule (Triathlon Audencia, 18 September 2010), Alistair placed 2nd, Jonathan 3rd, and their rival Javier Gómez Noya won gold.

In 2011, Brownlee took part in the French Club Championship Series Lyonnaise des Eaux representing the club ECS Triathlon, which, thanks to the Brownlee brothers and Javier Gómez Noya, had already won the Club Championship in 2010. At Nice (24 April 2011), Dunkirk (22 May 2011), and Paris (9 July 2011) Brownlee was the winner.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Alistair Brownlee". Corus. Archived from the original on 10 June 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
  2. ^ a b "Alistair Brownlee – profile". alistairbrownlee.com. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  3. ^ "Top results for multisporters at Regional Cross Country Champs". UK: British Triathlon. 26 January 2009. Archived from the original on 29 January 2009. Retrieved 16 September 2009. Alistair Brownlee (Bingley Harriers) started his year strongly with a tenth place position at Sherdley Park
  4. ^ a b c d "Alistair Brownlee World Champion". Leeds Metropolitan University. Archived from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
  5. ^ "No. 60367". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 2012. p. 24.
  6. ^ "2013 New Year's Honours" (PDF). Cabinetoffice.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Double Olympic champion Brownlee retires aged 36". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Alistair Brownlee: Double Olympic triathlon champion retires". ESPN. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  9. ^ "Alistair Brownlee". triathlon.org. Archived from the original on 12 June 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
  10. ^ a b Kimmage, Paul (21 March 2010). "Alastair Brownlee: three times a winner". The Sunday Times. London. Retrieved 21 March 2010.[dead link‍]
  11. ^ a b "Alistair Brownlee's professional website". Professional Sports Group. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  12. ^ "Alistair Brownlee's student profile". University of Leeds Olympic Programme. Archived from the original on 13 May 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  13. ^ "Brownlee is the world champion". Leeds Metropolitan University. Archived from the original on 26 September 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  14. ^ "Alistair Brownlee graduates from Leeds Met". Tri247.com. 23 July 2013.
  15. ^ "Jonathan Brownlee". nbcolympics.com. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  16. ^ "Brownlee brother keeps up gold standard". The Yorkshire Post. 24 August 2012. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  17. ^ "Alistair Brownlee". Channel 4. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
  18. ^ "Brownlee Storms To Second in Nationals". The Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  19. ^ "Medals for Triathletes at National Cross Country Championships". British Triathlon Federation. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2008.
  20. ^ "Brownlee Brothers Double As Yorkshire Champions". The Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  21. ^ "U15boys Yorkshire Results 2003". Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 5 November 2008.
  22. ^ a b "Interview: Olympic Gold Medallist – Alistair Brownlee MBE". The Cambridge Student. 7 March 2013.
  23. ^ a b c Davies, Gareth A (12 September 2009). "Alistair Brownlee wins ITU triathlon grand final and 2009 overall title" [Alistair Brownlee is one of the 26 athletes the BBC is following ahead of London 2012 as part of the series World Olympic Dreams.]. The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 15 September 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  24. ^ "Brownlee claims world triathlon title". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 September 2009. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  25. ^ "Alistair Brownlee sponsorship profile". Boardman Bikes. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
  26. ^ "Triathlon star Alistair Brownlee to miss season start". BBC Sports. 26 February 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  27. ^ a b "2010 Athlone ETU Triathlon European Championships : Elite Men : Results". Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  28. ^ "Can London return aid struggling Brownlees?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  29. ^ "Jonny Brownlee 2nd in ITU Dextro World Series Sydney". University of Leeds. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  30. ^ "2011 Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championship Series Madrid : Elite Men : Results". International Triathlon Union (ITU). Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  31. ^ "2011 Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championship Series Kitzbühel: Elite Men : Results". International Triathlon Union ITU. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  32. ^ Williams, Ollie (25 June 2011). "Alistair Brownlee leads brother Jonny to European one-two". BBC Sports. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  33. ^ a b "Alistair Brownlee (GBR) wins back-to-back European titles". European Triathlon Union (ETU). 25 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  34. ^ "Olympics triathlon: Alistair Brownlee wins Britain's 19th gold". Archived from the original on 9 August 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  35. ^ "Glasgow 2014: Alistair Brownlee wins gold, brother Jonny silver". BBC Sport. BBC. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  36. ^ "Glasgow 2014: England power to triathlon team relay success". BBC Sport. BBC. 26 July 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  37. ^ "Alistair Brownlee gives up chance to win triathlon and helps brother over line". The Guardian. 19 September 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  38. ^ "Alistair Brownlee's Half-Iron Distance Debut Set for Saturday". Triathlete.com. 19 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  39. ^ "Alistair Brownlee: Olympic triathlon champion wins on long-distance debut". bbc.co.uk. 24 April 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  40. ^ "Alistair Brownlee wins on Ironman 70.3 debut at North American Championships". bbc.co.uk. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  41. ^ "2006 Lausanne ITU Triathlon World Championships : Junior Men : Results". International Triathlon Union (ITU). Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  42. ^ "2007 Copenhagen ETU Triathlon European Championships : Junior Men : Results". European Triathlon Union (ETU). Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  43. ^ "2007 Hamburg BG Triathlon World Championships : Junior Men : Results". European Triathlon union (ETU).
  44. ^ "2008 Vancouver BG Triathlon World Championships : U23 Men : Results". International Triathlon Union (ITU). Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  45. ^ "Brownlee is World Champion Triathlete". [permanent dead link‍]
  46. ^ "Brownlee wins Hyde Park triathlon". BBC News. 15 August 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  47. ^ Greene, Erin (14 September 2016). "Alistair Brownlee, Mariya Shorets Aquathlon Champs". International Triathlon Union. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  48. ^ "Results for: Brownlee, Alistair (GBR)". Archived from the original on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  49. ^ The 2005 European Championships are missing in the profile pages of all participating athletes but the results can be found "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original on 25 December 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  50. ^ The 2005 European Championships are missing in the profile pages of all participating athletes but the results can be found "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Retrieved 12 July 2011.
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