Alistair Brownlee

Nickname

Ali, Al, Alo (britishtriathlon.org, 30 Jun 2008)

Hobbies

Reading, flying kites and being outdoors. (alistairbrownlee.com, 07 Aug 2011; timesonline.co.uk,21 Mar 2010)

Occupation

Athlete, Student

Education

Finance, Sports Science - Leeds Metropolitan University , Leeds, GBR

Language(s) spoken

English

Club name

Sartrouville Triathlon Club [FRA] / Bingley Harriers [ENG], Sartrouville, FRA

Coach

Jack Maitland [swimming, overall planning], Malcolm Brown [running], Ian Pyper [strength and conditioning] (Athlete, 07 Aug 2011; alistairbrownlee.com, 07 Aug 2011)

Sporting relatives

He represented England at the 2006 World Mountain Running Championships in Turkey. (NOC, 30 Jun 2008)

Other sports

His younger brother Jonathan is also an elite triathlete representing Great Britain. His mother represented Wales in swimming. (dailytelegraph.co.uk, 06 Aug 2011)

Injuries

In February 2012 he suffered a small tear in his left Achilles tendon. (The Telegraph and Argus, 23 Feb 2012)

He missed the opening two rounds of the 2010 World Championship Series because of a femoral stress fracture to the left leg, diagnosed in February 2010. (ITU, 02 Aug 2011; news.bbc.co.uk, 29 Apr 2010)

Additional information

Start of sporting career
He ran his first triathlon around the age of 11 in Yorkshire, England. Prior to that he had been running and swimming competitively since the age of six. (alistairbrownlee.com, 07 Aug 2011; bbc.co.uk, 14 Sep 2009)

Reason for taking up this sport
"My dad took me to an event in Nottingham. At the time, I was happy swimming and running and it was just something else to do but the technique of it - jumping out of a pool and jumping on your bike and then pulling your trainers on - was as exciting as anything I had ever done. I think it's the variation and the fact that there's a bit of everything that makes me love it." (alistairbrownlee.com, 07 Aug 2011; news.bbc.co.uk, 05 Aug 2011; timesonline.co.uk, 21 Mar 2010)

Ambitions
To become an Olympic champion and compete in ironman racing. ( morethanthegames.co.uk, 19 Oct 2009)

Training
He trains for 30 to 35 hours per week. He often swims at least a mile before breakfast and cycles between 15 and 80 miles and runs between four and 15 miles every day. Because of the intensity of his training, Alistair says he visits his physio once a week. "I think the key is to keep everything consistent, going mad and changing your training patterns on a frequent basis is dangerous." (btlife.bt.com, 23 Aug 2011; triathlete-europe.competitor.com, 16 Mar 2011; news.bbc.co.uk, 07 Mar 2011)

Most memorable sporting achievement
Winning the 2009 World Championships on the Gold Coast. (Athlete, 01 Sep 2011)

Hero
Ethiopian long distance runner Haile Gebrselassie, English fell runner Joss Naylor, US cyclist Lance Armstrong. (alistairbrownlee.com, 07 Aug 2011)

Most influential person in career
His parents. "They started me off, taught me a love of being active and the outdoors, and have supported me all over the world." (Athlete, 01 Sep 2011)

Superstitions / Rituals
"I don't believe in having a rest day." (guardian.co.uk, 25 July 2010)

Sporting philosophy / motto
"Pain is only what you make of it." (alistairbrownlee.com, 07 Aug 2011)

Awards
In 2011 he was named GE British Triathlon Male Elite Triathlete of the Year at the British Triathlon Annual Awards for the fourth successive year. (britishtriathlon.org, 13 Nov 2011)

In 2011 he was named alongside fellow British triathlete Helen Jenkins as joint Olympic Athlete of the Year at the British Triathlon Annual Awards. (britishtriathlon.org, 13 Nov 2011)

In 2010 he was awarded the inaugural Peter Holmes Award for Inspirational Performance in International Competition. [Peter Holmes was former ITU Communications Manager, tragically killed in a winter sports accident in December 2009]. (britishtriathlon.org, 14 Nov 2010)

General
ALTITUDE TENT
He has an altitude tent in his apartment that he sleeps in. "The idea is that it stimulates your body to produce more red blood cells so it's better at carrying blood. It doesn't cost anything so you might as well," he said. (news.bbc.co.uk, 05 Aug 2011)

FAMILY AFFAIR AT LONDON 2012
He and brother Jonathan finished first and third respectively at the 2011 ITU World Championship Series event in London, securing spots for the 2012 Olympic Games. Alistair says coming onto the finish straight with his brother at London 2012 would be a dream: "It's the Olympic Games and we're two lads who can hardly play Monopoly without throwing the board at each other. Suddenly you're on the biggest sporting stage in the world. We'll work as a team until the run, then it'll be every man for himself and we can really race." (ITU, 07 Aug 2011; news.bbc.co.uk, 05 Aug 2011)

EDUCATION
Both of his parents are doctors and he earned a spot to study medicine at Cambridge University. He gave it up after a term, deciding it was too difficult to manage alongside his athletic career. He moved back to Leeds to focus on his training, and in 2011 he was studying for a Masters degree in finance at Leeds Metropolitan University. He also has a degree in physiology and sport. (thisislondon.co.uk, 02 Aug 2011; alistairbrownlee.com, 07 Aug 2011; news.bbc.co.uk, 10 Sep 2011)

Previous Olympics

Beijing 2008