POSTED: March 20th 2010
NewsUpdate
More the merrier as triathlon champion Brownlee swims back to fitness
KEIR RADNEDGE / Sports Features Communications
LONDON: Very few swimmers relish the prospect of jumping into a crowded pool. But Alistair Brownlee is different. Britain’s world triathlon champion finds that having to negotiate around other swimmers is one of the best methods to replicate conditions in open water – one of the three testing disciplines of his chosen sport.
The 21-year-old from Leeds is recovering from a stress fracture of his left thigh but hopes to be fit to launch a delayed start – in Madrid in June - to the defence of his Dextro Energy ITU world championship. Competition, run on a grand prix style, reaches a climax at the grand final in Budapest in September.
An Olympic competitor swims 1.5 kilometres in open water, mounts a bike to cycle 40 kilometres then finishes with a 10 kilometre run. At London 2012 Games the triathlon is being staged in Hyde Park, starting with two laps of the Serpentine.
That means the London leg of the Dextro Energy world championship series – also in Hyde Park - over the weekend of July 24-25 carries extra significance. The remarkable nature of the event means that that thousands of triathlon amateurs will be competing over the same course over race weekend.
Marker time
No wonder Brownleee said: “This is the one to win. It would be great to lay down a marker in front of your home fans.” His current injury, incurred running on snow and ice during the winter, has at least forced Brownlee to spend more time in the pool.
He said: “I like it when it’s crowded. It gives you a chance to think of tactics and how to keep clear of the competition.”
Younger brother Jonathan is a serious rival to Brownlee, beng the current European junior champion after having been world junior silver medallist. Alistair Brownlee said: “If I didn’t win Olympic gold there’s nobody I’d like to win it more than my brother.”
Of course, Britain might even have two Brownlees on the Olympic podium in two years’ time, a possibility the elder considerer merely "interesting."
Keywords · ITU · Dextro · Brownlee · triathlon · London 2012
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