The aerial views over Rio de Janeiro’s famed sandy Copacabana Beach and into the Atlantic Ocean for the one lap, 1500-meter swim signalled a magnificent beginning to the Triathlon race at the Olympics.
History became more magnificent when Alistair Brownlee became the first athlete in triathlon’s 16-year Olympic history to successfully defend an Olympic gold medal for Great Britain. Brother Johnny capped of a 1-2 win for the Brownlees and Great Britain, ahead of Henri Schoeman from South Africa.
Onto the blue carpet for the first time, Slovakia’s Richard Varga led out of swim, with both Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee in tow.
Immediately onto the bike, the duo set a blistering fast pace, as though they were sprinting towards the finish line already. They completed the 40km bike leg in under 45minutes averaging 53km/h on the undulating loop with some steep terrain mixed in.
Joining the Brownlees in that front pack were Varga, Vincent Luis (FRA), Ben Kanute (USA), Aaron Royle (AUS), Marten Van Riel (BEL), Alessandro Fabian (ITA), Henri Schoeman (RSA) and Andrea Salvisberg (SUI).
Going into the run, Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee did not let go of that blistering pace, and undeniably still had control towards the Olympic podium. Johnny knew that dreaded moment was coming, as the two brothers ran together out front the first half of the 10km.
Without a doubt, Alistair decided to break away as though a lion was chasing after him, and never slowed down towards the finish line. The sight of his younger brother soon faded from the cameras, with the Frenchmen Vincent Luis also unable to keep up with Johnny and also dropped back.
It wasn’t till the final few meters till the finish line had Alistair decided to walk towards the finish line, grabbing the British flag and glancing back towards his brother who was closing in. Grabbing the finishing tape at the line in 1:45:01, Alistair collapsed exhaustedly and was joined by brother Johnny soon after.
In the 17 times the Brownlee brothers have competed against each other at the Olympic distance, Jonathan has never beaten Alistair and that would be no different today. Jonathan Brownlee improved on his 2012 bronze medal, earning the silver right behind his brother. Schoeman, an up and comer on the International Triathlon Union circuit, found peak form at the right time to claim the bronze medal.
Read more at Triathlon.competitor.com
