The Brownlee brothers
by admin on Aug.07, 2012, under Other
Both brothers were also high academic achievers. Lines still recalls how his
teaching colleague in the chemistry department was fearful that Alistair’s
chance of an Oxbridge education would be compromised by his participation in
the world junior championships of 2006.
Alistair duly returned from Lausanne as world champion and then still won a
place at Cambridge with A-level in Physics (A), Chemistry (A), Biology (A)
and maths (A).
It was this world championship victory that also flicked a switch in Jonny,
who was soon quite literally following in his brother’s footsteps. “I
thought, ‘Alistair’s world champion, I can do it too’,” he says. “It was the
same when he qualified for the Beijing Olympics. I just thought, ‘well, it
doesn’t take a special person to qualify for the Olympics, he’s just my
brother’.”
Anyone who knows the two brothers would certainly contest that. Although
blessed with many physical qualities, fellow competitors believe that it is
their work ethic and attention to detail which most sets them apart. The
brothers train for an average of 35 hours a week and, in their shared house
in Bramhope, both sleep in an oxygen tent. They are also resourceful and
innovative.
This was never more evident than earlier this year when Alistair’s Olympic
participation was placed in serious peril by a torn Achilles tendon. Knowing
that training time was so precious, he began aqua jogging in order to get
the required cardiovascular workout with placing any weight on his Achilles.
Finding suitable facilities, however, was a problem. “I was doing this in a
public pool in public sessions with kids jumping on my head and old grannies
telling me I shouldn’t be there,” he says. “I was thinking: ‘This is
ridiculous, I’m going to the Olympics in six months’.”
The solution? Build his own swimming pool, complete with underwater treadmill,
in the garden of their house. “That way I couldn’t get away from doing the
training. I had to dig a hole to put the pool in but once it was in I could
crack on. It was brilliant.”
With Alistair absent through injury, Jonny produced the best performances of
his career in winning world series events in San Diego and Madrid. Yet when
Alistair made his competitive comeback just six weeks ago in Kitzbuehel, he
stormed to a brilliant victory ahead of second-placed Jonny. Their strength,
according to just about every triathlon expert, is simply an absence of any
weakness across the three disciplines.
They are also relentlessly consistent and, even under the pressure of the
biggest race of their lives, they again delivered in unforgettable style.
