The multiple Olympic and world champion was a prolific junior athlete before focusing solely on triathlon
Alistair Brownlie’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 female athlete to secure two Olympic individual triathlon titles, has dominated the sport for a decade.
In addition to winning London 2012 and Rio 2016, Brownlee became a two-time individual world triathlon champion and also won two team titles on the world stage.
Brownlee’s dominance continued at the European Championships and Commonwealth Games, with the Briton securing four titles in the former and then two, including one in the medley relay, in the latter.
Alistair Brownlee (Getty)
“Triathlon has deeply shaped my life. I have dedicated almost half of it to being a professional athlete, fulfilling my childhood dream and achieving much more than I ever dared to imagine,” Brownlee wrote on his Instagram.
“Why now? It feels right. I’m happy and content, looking forward to what’s ahead. I’m smiling because it happened, not crying because it’s over.
“I’m looking forward to accepting a slightly slower pace of life, but not too slow. An exciting array of events, challenges and adventures awaits me. things I’ve always wanted to break into but haven’t had the chance to pursue. For me, the sport has always been a personal journey of exploration and I’m excited to try some new challenges.”
Alistair Brownlee (L) (Mark Shearman)
Throughout his career, Brownlee was synonymous with his agility and endurance, outrunning competitors in the 10km triathlon.
The biggest example of this was London 2012, when Brownlee took down Spain’s Javier Gomez with 3km to go, clocking an incredible 29:07 on the streets of the British capital.
It is still the fastest 10km in an Olympic triathlon since the event debuted at Sydney 2000.
Brownlee’s ability to push the limits in the latter stages of an event, even after completing the swim and bike, should come as no surprise.
Johnny and Alistair Brownlee (Getty)
After being introduced to triathlon at a young age by his uncle Simon Hearnshaw, who competed regularly in the sport, Brownlee never looked back.
Running for Bingley AC, 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 last year’s edition, told AW at the time: “I ran really badly at Inter-Counties. But I felt a bit under the weather and probably shouldn’t have.”
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, finishing 48th overall.
Brownlee also wore Bingley’s AC colors in 2011. In the Northern Men’s 12-leg relay, running 21:45 over the four-and-a-half-mile course.
A year later, Brownlee became Olympic triathlete champion in London 2012, and since then he and brother Johnny, who won bronze at the Games, founded the Brownlee Foundation, a charity set up to inspire children of all backgrounds to take up sport.
The brothers have raced against each other on several occasions, with Alistair finishing just six seconds ahead of Jonny for a 1-2 finish at Rio 2016.
That same year, Alistair helped Johnny across the finish line at the Triathlon World Series event in Mexico when his younger brother faltered on the home straight.
Alistair and Johnny Brownlee (Getty)
Led by John, Alistair, then in third place, supported his brother for the final 700m and helped him over the line.
The elder Brownlee did not make it to the Tokyo Olympics after an ankle injury forced him to miss the Games.
Brownlee, who has already inspired the current generation of triathletes such as Alex Yee and Georgia Taylor-Brown, can retire with the comfort that the baton has well and truly passed.
His success, like many of the current crop, was built on those muddy fields in places like Mansfield, Liverpool and Leeds.
You can also find all our original coverage of Alistair Brownlee’s cross-city events: Athletics Weekly Archive.
(From the first issue in December 1945 to the present, current subscribers to our magazine can access this resource for free, while non-subscribers can pay just £399 a month.full access.
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