Alistair Brownlee says helping brother Jonny over the line has brought them ‘closer than ever’

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Photo finish: Alistair Brownlee helps Jonny over the line in Cozumel
ELIZABETH RUIZ/AFP/Getty Images

Alistair Brownlee may have two Olympic golds to his name but, immaterial of what happens for the rest of his career, he may remain better known for a race he did not win.

A simple Google search of his name alludes to the successful defence of his triathlon title in Rio but is a mere sideshow to the global frenzy that followed his rescue act on younger brother Jonny as he suffered severe heat exhaustion in the season finale in Cozumel, Mexico, in September.

Alistair’s decision to scoop up Jonny and virtually carry him to the finishing line even led to an invite to appear on hit American talkshow The Ellen Show, such was the worldwide adulation of the Yorkshire duo.

For his part, Alistair is at ease with the sense the moment might define him, a moment he believes merited his BBC Sports Personality of the Year nomination more than the second Games gold. “There are times as brothers that you get closer and further away,” says the older Brownlee on the eve of the awards. “There are times where you’re pushed and pulled apart — this has pushed us closer than ever before.”

Has he ever done anything nicer for his brother? “I’d like to say there’s lots of things but Jonny will say not — and he’s probably right,” he adds.

The instinctive, protective decision to gather up his sibling — the thinking being he would get him to the required medical care more quickly — was one that he wrestled with in bed the night after the race. “I remember thinking over and over again, ‘Did I do the right or wrong thing? Was that in the rules?’,” he admits. “Jonny was still in hospital and there I was thinking, ‘What have I done?’”

The morning after the night before, the answer was unanimous. Race officials deemed the brothers in arms perfectly legal, while social media exploded, with tweets from JK Rowling, Gordon Ramsay among other celebrities pinging his way.

“It was the stag-do for our friend Richard Varga [a fellow triathlete] that day, so we went out on a boat and went snorkelling on a reef,” he recalls. “It wasn’t really until after that that everything went crazy.”

Whether it proves enough for the elder Brownlee to win SPOTY is unlikely. He is second favourite with the bookmakers, with Andy Murray the clear favourite for a third win after ending the year as world No1, having won Wimbledon, Olympic gold and the ATP World Tour Finals. “You never know what can happen in a public vote — we’ve seen that a lot recently,” says Brownlee, laughing. “Hopefully, the public will get it right this time!”

Sports Personality of the Year 2016 nominees

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For Brownlee, there is surprise that Chris Froome has not made the list following a third Tour de France win — the public having got “almost blase” at the British level of success in that race — while his own pick to win would be Mo Farah. “If it was purely on sporting achievement, I’d go with Mo, having done something that’s never been done before,” says Brownlee. “To win that double so many times in a row, that’s incredible.”

Brownlee has Farah in his sights, of sorts. When he returns properly to training on New Year’s Day, he will take a different tack for the coming season.

He has plans to run more 10,000m races on the track, so how might he fancy his chances against Britain’s finest-ever middle distance runner? “No chance — seriously. I’d like to know where I’d be, but I think I know the answer. At my very best I can just dip under 28 minutes. With his times he’d be a full lap ahead of me.”

There may be a half-marathon or marathon in the pipeline, too, while his bigger target in the next couple of years is to tackle a half-ironman distance, a precursor to the ultimate No1 on his to-do list long-term.

“Outside the Olympics, winning Kona [the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii] is the biggest deal in triathlon,” he says. “I just want to try different things. I’ve not focused too much on what they are as I needed a break. Now, it’s not a case of coming back and thinking about the 2020 Olympics.”

Another Olympic one-two remains a possibility in Tokyo, with the Brownlees boasting more than a quarter of all the medals ever awarded in the event.

Weighing up whether victory in London or Rio means more to him is not an easy decision to make. “London was obviously amazing as a home Olympics, having gone in as the favourite but with a lot of external pressure, but it was tinged with disappointment that we couldn’t get the one-two,” he says.

Brownlee Brothers: in pictures

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“What was special about Rio was that it went perfectly. We trained to break the pack at the first transition and we did exactly that. To finish one-two at the Olympics [the first time siblings have done so in the same event since Rome in 1960] is pretty special.”

The competitor in him would love to do so again and he admits now to itching to get back, particularly to the training side of things. “I’ve missed the exercise and the thinking time,” he says. “It’s like your personal therapy. Training’s what I love to do. I love feeling tired at the end of the day, I love pushing myself. I’m looking forward to getting back.”

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