Alistair Brownlee: Background, career highlights, quotes

Four-time world champion, four-time European champion, Commonwealth Games champion and, most significantly, double Olympic gold medallist… Alistair Brownlee not only dominated triathlon but also put it on the global sporting map.

Here, we take a look at the British ace’s story, all the way from those early days in the junior ranks right up to present day.

Who is Alistair Brownlee?

When, in 2016, he jogged towards the finish line on the Rio beachfront, a Union Jack flag in his hand and the broadest of smiles across his face, Alistair Brownlee knew he was just about to make history: the first triathlete ever to retain their Olympic title.

The victory was arguably as sweet as the one in London four years earlier, especially as kid brother Jonny was just a little way back on the blue carpet, ready to bag the silver he missed out on in 2012.

For most elite triathletes, just one Olympic medal of any hue would be the ultimate career highlight. But Alistair Brownlee isn’t most elite triathletes. This Olympic double came after he’d already made an indelible impression on the sport.

By the end of the 2011 season, and still at the age of 23, Brownlee was already in possession of two elite world titles to go alongside the junior and U23 world crowns that were in the family trophy cabinet back in West Yorkshire.

Then there was the Commonwealth Games gold in 2014, along with no fewer than four European champion titles. And let’s not forget the MBE he was awarded in 2013.

The twin spectres of bad form and niggling injury meant Brownlee didn’t get the chance to make it a hat-trick of Olympic golds in Tokyo, but by then he was already writing a new chapter in his sporting career.

In 2017, he first competed at Ironman 70.3 and proved himself a natural at middle-distance racing, winning a string of races as well as two world championship silvers. He then moved up to Ironman and, in his second race at the distance at Ironman Western Australia in December 2019, he set a new course record.

Further injury meant he was never truly able to show consistent form over the long distance, and after racing on the prestigious T100 circuit in 2024, he finally called time on his career – a third place at his final event in Dubai in November a fitting end to one of the greatest, if not the greatest, triathletes the world has ever known.

His achievements came in a genuine golden age for men’s short-course triathlon, one graced by the likes of Javier Gomez, Mario Mola, Vincent Luis and, of course, his own brother, Jonny Brownlee. (Gomez also announced his retirement in 2024, as did Luis from short-course racing.)

Brownlee’s impact on the sport of tri is difficult to measure, let alone write. He was a generational athlete, who, incredibly, had a brother close in age with an almost equal talent for tri. A boon for any sports journalist!

A home Games took place during his peak years, and he was able to achieve that most difficult of things for a pro athlete – consistency, or certainly enough to allow him to race Rio four years later and again be almost untouchable; a feat that is yet to be repeated in triathlon.

And then came ‘that’ race Cozumel in 2016 (see below), and suddenly the two brothers who had just won gold and silver in Rio, who were already used to making headlines, were elevated to the front page of every major UK newspaper, and beyond! This crazy sport of tri had well and truly arrived. Super League launched its first event a year later. Could it have done so without two Brownlees putting tri on the global map?

Alistair’s no-nonsense approach to training, his confidence in shaping his own career, and choosing which people to work with has set the standard for how federations ‘manage’ their triathletes. He proved that trusting one’s own instincts can reap the biggest rewards.

Alistair’s legacy will continue to inspire triathletes for generations to come – the new British Olympic champion Alex Yee is just one of the current crop of short-course talent who watched Ali and Jonny race in London in 2012.

In a beautiful full-circle moment, it was Alistair who helped spur Yee into giving one final push for the Paris title, having dropped 14secs back into second behind Hayden Wilde. “Anything can happen, mate!” shouted Brownlee from the sidelines. 2.5km later, Yee was Olympic champion.

So, from all of us at 220, thank you, Alistair. It’s been one of our life’s honours to watch you race.

How old is Alistair Brownlee?

Alistair Brownlee was born on 23 April 1988, making him 36 years old.

Alistair Brownlee’s career highlights

September 2006: Junior world title makes it a British hat-trick

As a portent of what’s to come from both him and British triathlon, Brownlee wins the junior world championship in Lausanne, making it a clean sweep for the Brits with Tim Don bagging the elite title and Will Clarke winning the U23 crown.

June 2008: World crown number two in Canada

Only a couple of months beyond his 20th birthday, Brownlee pockets his second world title when he takes the U23 race at the world champs in Vancouver.

May 2009: Brownlee hits the ground running in WTS

In his first-ever taste of the brand-new World Triathlon Series that will now decide the identity of the world champion over a season of races, Brownlee wins in Madrid. His future great rival, the Spaniard Javier Gomez, can only manage bronze on his home turf.

September 2009: Perfect five makes Brownlee a world-beater

Having won in every round of the WTS in which he’s competed (as well as Madrid, there are victories in Washington DC, Kitzbühel and London), Brownlee makes it five from five with the win in the Grand Final on Australia’s Gold Coast. At 21, he’s the first men’s world champion to be crowned through the WTS set-up.

July 2010: A pocketful of Euros

To go alongside his world title, Brownlee becomes European champion in Athlone in Ireland, again leaving Gomez in his wake. The Yorkshireman will retain the title in 2011, while also winning it in 2014 and 2019.

September 2011: Another masterful bunch of fives

Having relinquished his world title to Gomez in 2010, the 2011 WTS series sees Brownlee regaining the imperious form he showed two years earlier.

He scores five race victories, culminating in triumph at the Grand Final in Beijing. A second WTS title is his, with brother Jonny pipping Gomez for silver.

August 2012: Olympic champion on home tarmac

Arguably the highlight of his entire career, Brownlee takes to the streets of London as the favourite for Olympic gold and he doesn’t disappoint. He becomes a truly household name overnight, as does third-placed Jonny.

July 2014: Another Games, another gold

Commonwealth Games champion is added to the Brownlee CV as he finishes 11 seconds ahead of his sibling to make it a 1-2 for England in Glasgow.

August 2016: The Olympic history-maker

On Copacabana Beach, Brownlee becomes the first triathlete in history to win two Olympic golds. He slows just before the finishing line to watch and welcome Jonny go one better than in London four years earlier by taking silver.

September 2016: Brotherly love from Brownlee the elder

Jonny is poised to take the world title at the WTS Grand Final in Cozumel. Victory will secure this and he’s comfortably ahead. But then he’s stricken by heat stroke with 700m left and big brother Ali has to surrender his own race to help him over the finishing line.

Despite Brownlee senior’s efforts, Jonny has been overtaken by South African Henri Schoeman, meaning eighth-placed Mario Mola has done enough to steal the world title away by just four points.

May 2017: A seamless transition into 70.3

In his first Ironman event, Brownlee takes victory at the 70.3 race in St George, Utah, beating a strong field that includes highly experienced campaigners like Lionel Sanders and Sebastian Kienle.

September 2018: Silver at the 70.3 world champs

After further 70.3 wins in Liuzhou and Dubai, Brownlee takes silver at the half-distance world championships behind Jan Frodeno. He remains, however, a thorn in Javier Gomez’s side and the Spaniard has to settle for bronze.

June 2019: An Ironman triumph at the first attempt

In cold and wet conditions in Cork, Brownlee wins the first full-distance Ironman he’s ever competed in, though the race is reduced to a bike-run format due to the weather.

A month later he wins 70.3 Dun Laoghaire.

September 2019: Another world champs, another silver

A second successive silver at the 70.3 worlds, this time losing out to Norway’s Gustav Iden.

December 2019: Further Ironman success down under

Brownlee registers his second Ironman victory in the more agreeable climate of Western Australia. The win, in a course record time, sees him qualify for the 2020 world championships in Kona, but the event falls victim to the Covid-19 pandemic and is cancelled.

June 2021: Tokyo Olympics hopes fade

After a couple of years blighted by the pandemic and injuries, Brownlee arrives in Leeds hoping to stake a claim on the second or (by now very unlikely third) spot in the men’s team for the rearranged Tokyo Olympics.

Things don’t go to plan, however, as Brownlee is disqualified for ducking America’s Chase McQueen in the swim. Alex Yee goes on to win the race, takes the second and final Olympic spot and, well, the rest is history.

May 2022: Double DNS

Alistair first withdraws from the Ironman World Champs at the start of May with sickness, then four weeks later drops out of the Sub7 challenge with a stress response in his hip.

At the end of July, stomach troubles in the PTO Canadian Open see him finish 24th.

August 2022: Back on top

Competing in the first-ever Ironman 70.3 Swansea, Brownlee races solo on the bike and run to win by over 8mins over Spain’s Antonio Benito Lopez.

Two weeks later he’s in Sweden, setting the fastest British Ironman time and bagging his slot to Kona.

September 2022: Injured and out

Announces on social media that he’s having to withdraw from the rest of the season due to a stress fracture in his femur.

May 2023: Sixth in Ibiza and first in the UK Xterra

Returns to racing at the PTO European Open and leads the race until 8km into the run, before slowly being passed by the eventual top five. Still not back to full run form, he’s pleased with the result.

A week later he’s over the moon to win the first Xterra UK in Weston Park.

October 2023: Medals twice in Spain

After having surgery on his right ankle in July to remove a bone spur, and doing a gravel race in August, Alistair returns to multisport at Challenge Barcelona where he takes silver behind Dutch pro Youri Keulen.

Six days later he collects bronze at Challenge Peguera-Mallorca, and then seven days after that he finishes sixth in Challenge Vieux Bocau.

March 2024: Fifth in Miami

In the first race of the new T100 series, Brownlee finishes a solid fifth but admits the heat got to him on the run. At T100 Singapore a month later he DNFs due to ankle pain on the run.

And then in San Francisco T100 in June a “frustrating day… stuck in second gear, I just had nothing to give” sees him finish 14th.

November 2024: One last race, one medal

An eighth (London), fourth (Ibiza) and a DNF (Lake Las Vegas) would follow in the T100, before a final flourish at the Grand Final in Dubai… and finally, a podium spot in third. A clearly relieved Brownlee ends the year on a high.

21 November 2024: Over and out…

Four days later, he announces his retirement from pro sport. The great and the good of the tri community flock to his Instagram post to pass on their well wishes, share memories and thank him for inspiring their own careers. The GOAT, has left the race course.

Alistair Brownlee in quotes

On the aftermath of his first WTS world title in 2009: “Afterwards on the Gold Coast it was crazy. I was getting stopped everywhere for autographs and pictures. I was starting to get really sick of it and then I flew home. I went out for a meal with friends that night, had a few drinks and no-one came up to me. ‘Oh, nothing’s changed. Thank God for that.’”

On winning gold in Hyde Park at the London 2012 Olympics: “The race was unbelievable and the crowds were amazing. The pressure was stacked up and so many things put to bed today. It feels a bit underwhelming because Jonny has collapsed, but, no, it is fantastic. I am massively proud of Jonny.”

On turning to his brother Jonny after they finished first and second at the 2016 Rio Olympics: “We’ve done it.”

On having to help brother Jonny over the line at the WTS Grand Final in Cozumel in 2016: “I wish the flipping idiot had just paced it right and won the race. He could have jogged the last 2km.”

On being disqualified in his hometown WTS race in Leeds in 2021, effectively removing any chance of defending his Olympic title in Tokyo: “I only knew I was disqualified on the last lap so it was a bitter end to it. It’s a subjective field of play decision, but it is what it is.”

On dropping out of the Sub7 challenge in May 2022: “Honestly, I’m devastated. I was frustrated to miss [the 2021 Ironman World Champs] St George, and now this. I’m gutted. I was so invested in the process and loved working with my team. This was the goal that stimulated me again in the sport, on par with the Olympics.”

On winning Ironman 70.3 Swansea 2022 after his worst start to a season ever: “It feels like finally my 2022 season has started. In August!”

On retiring from pro sport: “It’s time to close this chapter…

“This marks my transition from professional triathlon, a moment approached with both dread and excitement in equal measure.

“Triathlon has profoundly shaped my life; I have dedicated nearly half of it to being a professional athlete, fulfilling my childhood dream and achieving far more than I ever dared to imagine.

“Why now? It feels right. I am happy and content, eager for what lies ahead. I find myself smiling because it happened, rather than crying because it’s over (to paraphrase Dr. Seuss).

“I look forward to embracing a slightly slower pace of life, yet not too slow. There’s an exciting array of events, challenges, and adventures awaiting me—things I’ve always wanted to have a crack at but haven’t had the chance to pursue. For me, sport has always been a personal journey of exploration, and I’m excited to try some new challenges. Feel free to make suggestions below.

“First, I have many wonderful people to thank and some well-deserved relaxation to embrace.

“In the coming months, I’ll share more about my career and the incredible individuals who have been part of my journey, along with the new and exciting challenges and projects I’m eager to tackle.

“I am deeply grateful to each and every one of you for your contributions, no matter how small you may believe they are. Your support means the world to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

What’s next for Alistair Brownlee?

As he mentioned in his retirement post, see above, he’ll be keeping his followers abreast about his future challenges and projects.