Eric and Ernie, Ant and Dec, Ali and Jonny. As double acts go, for more than a decade mention 'triathlon' to the British public at large and the likely response is: 'Brownlee Brothers.' For the early part of their careers, the duo was inseparable on starting pontoons and not much further apart at the finish. Since Rio 2016 their paths have started to diverge, but until this year were always linked by Olympic ambition. Yet after being thwarted from defending his title in Tokyo 2020, Alistair finally made a clean break to long course. For Jonny, it's the Commonwealths in Birmingham this summer and then head down to Paris 2024. We caught up with both to find out how they're embracing their respective challenges...
220: Jonny, at 32, what's the biggest challenge to staying competitive at short-course racing?
JB: I remember being a young athlete growing up and [former GB pro and London 2012 Olympian] Stu Hayes telling me that when I reached his age, recovery would be harder. I was 20 years old and was like: 'What are you on about?"
I used to be able to do a hard track session on a Tuesday night and be up like a spring chicken for a run on Wednesday morning. Now it takes a little bit longer to get going. The hard aspect is keeping the intensity in training over the period I need it.
The calendar is also more difficult. We used to start racing in Madrid in May and finish the World Series by September. The current series lasts over a year. I think I'm going to pick and choose my races over the next three years.
220: Is it also about retaining enough speed on the run?
This story is from the July 2022 edition of 220 Triathlon.
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This story is from the July 2022 edition of 220 Triathlon.
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