Alistair Brownlee: “I’m not planning on retiring”

In August 2022, Serena Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam champion, announced that she was “evolving away from tennis”. 

The suitably stylish bow eventually concluded with a flurry of spectacular night matches on Arthur Ashe at the US Open, the biggest tennis venue in the world.

It’s not language you’d readily associate with a straight-talking Yorkshireman. 

But over the past few years the signs have been there that two-time Olympic gold medallist, who has done more to energise triathlon in Great Britain than anyone else, Alistair Brownlee, has been preparing for life after competitive swim, bike and run.

Williams stressed she’s no fan of the word “retirement”. There’s a sense it’s rarely in Brownlee’s vocabulary either. 

Keeping busy

While he throws himself into more and more off-course pursuits, the challenge of trying to defy Father Time is one he clearly still relishes.  

The 36-year-old’s broad range of interests span from the Brownlee Foundation to Brownlee Fitness to Brownlee Racing, being on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes’ Commission and looking for shrewd investments such as performance tech company, Incus. 

In the build-up to the summer’s Olympics, he even became a sounding board for Britain’s Beth Potter, the 2023 world champion. She would win two bronze medals in Paris.

On one hand you’d think there’d be little time left to devote to the 35-hour training weeks Alistair and his brother Jonathan became renowned for in Leeds.

This high volume helped set a template for arguably all of the nine Olympic medals that have followed for GB since they kicked it off in such mesmeric fashion in London 2012.

On the other hand, the incentive is still there. Save the occasional flourish – usually in lower key races – Brownlee hasn’t been able to show his true talents since stepping up to middle- and long-distance racing. 

Most professionals would be satisfied with Brownlee’s Ironman palmares, though. He’s taken three Ironman victories in Ireland, Western Australia and Sweden and was second in the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in 2018 and 2019.

More was expected 

But coming from an unprecedented short-course career of success, including a record 22 individual World Series wins, more was expected. 

Then just when it looked we might yet again see the best of Brownlee, injury struck. Time and time again. 

Fan expectation has given way to appreciation when he does make the start-line. 

A welcome irony for 2024 is that the new T100 Series, launched by the Professional Triathletes Organisation to breathe life into the sport, looks to have invigorated Brownlee too. 

He is just three contracted male athletes to have started every T100 race. And it has, in typical Brownlee style, been a rollercoaster.

He suffered in the heat in Miami and dropped out of Singapore with a calf issue. After an explicably poor performance in San Francisco, he fared better in London (fifth) and then Ibiza (fourth). 

“I would have liked better results, especially in San Francisco, that was really disappointing,” he says.

“I thought I was okay going into that and that a hard, hilly, cold race was going to be perfect for me after some awfully hot races.

“But I don’t know what was wrong. To have a day where I just didn’t function was really disappointing.”

Having felt the best he had in training prior to London T100, the result in Ibiza left him ninth in the series before the final two races in Las Vegas and Dubai.

“So good to finally have a solid race that I’m proud of,” he reflected on social media after his White Island effort.

“I felt like my body was firing as it should for the first time in a long time!”

The new generation

Brownlee could yet threaten the top of the leaderboard. But his own inconsistency over an extended period coupled with the evolution of the sport means the fear factor has dissipated.

This is perhaps best illustrated by the bike power of younger athletes. For example, French-British racer Sam Laidlow became Ironman world champion aged 24 last year and Denmark’s Magnus Ditlev, 27, won Challenge Roth in a record 7:23:24.

“[Retirement] is something I think about but I’m focused on racing the races coming up and at the moment,” Brownlee adds. 

“I’m definitely not planning on retiring.

“I really wanted to race this year in the T100 series and I can see myself carrying on for sure.

“But sport is unpredictable and injuries are a tough part of that, and will form part of the decision, I guess.”

The people that shaped a Brownlee  

The Brownlee Foundation started in 2014. To date it has provided opportunities for more than 65,000 children to take part in sport.

So it follows that he is also an ambassador for ‘Play Their Way’. This government-funded initiative tries to make kids’ coaching fun.

“I’m passionate about the importance activity and sport can have for young people at every level,” he explains.

“Whether that’s training to be Olympians one day or just training to be active and have fun. 

“The Olympics is a great inspiration for young people to see sport and be more inspired than they might otherwise be.

“After that it’s local clubs, schools and ultimately coaches who are the lifeblood of sport and facilitate young people to do sport.

“I was lucky to have many coaches in my early teenage years that I still see regularly today: Malcolm [Brown], Jack [Maitland], Coz [Tantrum], and school teachers.

“These relationships only form a sporting career but are important for developing in life. 

“A lot of my training was self-led but [the coaches] had an amazing impact in other ways too.”

Sport for all

Alistair sees the Brownlee Foundation as an entry point, a taster session of sport. From which point he hopes the momentum can be sustained, primarily through local clubs. 

“We all know, if we’ve been in sport a long time, that local clubs and local volunteers are the key to young people being active in the community,” he continues. 

“Federations should be doing all they can to support and remove the issue facing them in these roles.”

And are the British Triathlon Federation, the UK’s custodians of the sport, doing enough? 

“The role of the governing body is a tough one. 

“The short answer, and I think they’d agree, is that they are never doing enough. 

“There is always more that can be done. 

“It’s the same for the Brownlee Foundation and every stakeholder because it’s obvious that young person activity for health in the long term is a societal problem. 

“We all have a part to play and I see the federation’s role is to remove barriers for the rest of the ecosystem to happen.”

Follow my lead?

I’m curious as to whether he believes that his own example is one that, deep down, young people want to aspire to, or whether it is simply too daunting. 

Alistair and Jonathan are known for running to and from school, fell and cross-country, cycling for hours in any conditions and generally just enduring. 

At the recent women’s Ironman World Championship, newly-crowned Laura Philipp admitted she thought nothing of cycling 60km a day to and from school growing up.

So I wonder whether champions are just cut from a different cloth. 

“What I did isn’t for everyone,” Brownlee reflects. 

“But sport is for everyone and there are different levels and different sports for different people. 

“To be able to do a lot of it over a long period, it ultimately has to be fun. That has always been my approach and key message when I’ve been asked. 

“That could be the people around you, the place you train, the local community coaches. 

“It sounds obvious saying it, but if you are going to do something frequently over a long period, it has to be enjoyable.”

Coach Brownlee 

Another of his enterprises is Brownlee Fitness. This coaching platform gives users the benefit of his wisdom from years in triathlon. 

“A resource to encourage, allow and motivate people to train towards their athletic goals, whatever level they’re at,” is how Brownlee describes it.

 “One element is delivering the coaching prescription and gives people the technical knowledge they need.

“Another is to provide the community that people might not otherwise get and is an important motivator.”

The Brownlee Fitness team is led by former professional triathlete and Brownlee training partner Mark Buckingham.

Jonathan, in particular, regularly logs in for online catch-ups and seminars with the members. 

Master and apprentice

A more direct beneficiary of Alistair’s wisdom has been Beth Potter. He sees her regularly because they train in the same swim squad.

“If I’ve got a role to play and can add value to athletes I’ll do it,” Alistair explains.

 “Beth came to me and asked whether I’d help, and I said ‘absolutely, yes, so I’ve helped her over the last few years. 

“I wouldn’t say I’m a coach in a formal sense, I’m just adding value where I can.

“I could probably do more of it in the future in some shape or form.”

Jack Maitland oversees Potter’s progress, mirroring a role he played for many years with the Brownlees as they developed. 

Alistair’s role is more advisory, but something he refuses to take lightly.

“I thought a lot about whether I was the right person.

“Could I dedicate the time and energy and space to do it appropriately and not let her down?” he says. 

“Coaching is an enormous privilege. Malcolm taught me that.

To be part of a young person’s life, they are entrusting you with their dreams, career, passion and health. 

“There’s a responsibility there. Whoever approached me, I’d have to think: ‘Can I add value and am I the right person?’ 

“But yes, I’d always be open to help people achieve their sporting dreams.

“A lot of people helped me, and it would be a way to give back.”

Going but not forgotten

In whatever capacity, there’s a sense his influence over triathlon will linger for a while yet. 

In Paris this summer, he attended in his role on the athlete’s commission. This is largely a listening remit as he seeks to represent the athletes of the Olympic movement.

“On one hand it’s incredibly inspiring to hear some incredible stories of how some people got to the Olympic Games from countries around the world,” he says.

“On the other hand it’s very stark feedback.”

Much of that rests on finances. The Olympic dream burns brightly, but for many it can also burn through their cash reserves.

 “A lot of it isn’t to do with the IOC,” he continues.

 “They talk about selection or hardship of going to various events. 

“The IOC does have a wider role in the Olympic movement, but it’s focused on organising major sporting Games.”

No Brownlee in Paris  

After Jonny narrowly missed out in a selection race with Sam Dickinson for Paris, there was no Brownlee racing the triathlon for the first time since 2004 in Athens.

 “I would have loved to have seen him there at an Olympic Games for a fourth time.

 “It would have been very special,” he adds. 

“But it’s a hard position being a selector especially in that position where it is kind of subjective. 

“To be honest, Jonny hadn’t shown racing performance over the last few years, so I can completely understand the selection. 

“Genuinely, I think it was 50-50. 

“Choosing someone who has raced a bit and shown form over someone who hasn’t shown form but has the experience and it could have gone either way.”

The brothers have always been close and honest appraisals have always played into that. 

They’ve experienced uniquely pressurised situations, such as Hyde Park in 2012 together.

There’s been the odd brutal critique, such as Alistair’s critique of Jonny’s as “a complete tactical numpty” when he lost a sprint finish and world title to Javier Gomez in 2013.

But you don’t become a best man at your brother’s wedding without the relationship being solid. 

By insider accounts, Alistair’s best man’s speech was surprisingly charitable to his younger sibling.

The final brand Brownlee imprint is Brownlee Racing, the pro team franchise competing in the revamped Supertri series.

 “It’s a great opportunity to build a British team,” he says.

“I’m slightly embarrassed we decided to call Brownlee Racing, but we have a good roster of athletes, including Alex [Yee] and Beth.” 

Why the embarrassment? 

“It’s strange considering we have so much stuff, but I don’t like having things named after me.”

What is Play Their Way?

Launched in 2023, the Play Their Way campaign aims to transform the way children and young people are coached by prioritising their rights, needs and enjoyment in a ‘child-first’ approach. 

The campaign is funded by Sport England and The National Lottery.

Child-first coaching is an evidence-informed approach to coaching, championing every child’s voice, choice and journey in sport and physical activity. 

Whether triathlon, football, rugby, and everything in between, the Play Their Way campaign aims to put children first and help them enjoy being active in their own way.

“Play Their Way is all about giving coaches the skills to make sessions as fun and as engaging and keep them coming back time and again,” Alistair says.

“It allows children to have an input in the sessions to make them as fun and engaging as possible to make sure they keep coming back and form those important habits.”

Tom Elphick, head juniors coach at Manchester Triathlon Club, says: “I’m not a teacher and not in a classroom. 

“The children are here of their own freewill and it needs to be fun to get engagement. 

“We try to let the kids have as much input as possible and they generally come up with something completely different to what I was thinking of.

“Sometimes they make it harder for themselves and sometimes easier, but it’s mainly about getting their input and making sure it’s engaging for them. 

“Games we play now I had no idea existed when they first suggested them. This is what we play at school, and they explain it.”

Still got what it takes?

Since Alistair Brownlee retired from short-course racing in 2021, the Ironman or Ironman 70.3 world titles that he seemed destined to win have not materialised. 

But there have been glimpses of his undoubted talent:

August 2022, Ironman Sweden: 1st place

On a fast day in Kalmar, Brownlee took his most recent Ironman victory, with a race-best 2:40:46 marathon to finish in 7:38:47, his fastest Ironman time to date.

October 2023, Challenge Barcelona: 2nd place

The best performance of a disappointing year disrupted by illness and injury.

Over an unfamiliar 1,500m swim, 60km cycle and 15km run distance, only speedy Dutchman Youri Keulen got the better of Brownlee.

September 2024, T100 Ibiza: 4th place

While he’s led into the run on several occasions, this represented Brownlee’s best result over 100km to date. 

Despite a 1min drafting penalty, he produced a solid all-around performance to place fourth ahead of the final two races of the season.