They’ve done it. They’ve only gone and done it. Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee have won gold and silver in the Rio 2016 triathlon for Team GB. Four years after Alistair won Olympic gold in London’s Hyde Park, he’s won another one in the picturesque settings of Copacabana beach. His younger brother Jonathan, also known as Jonny, upgraded his bronze from London to a silver this time around.
The brothers were in the leading pack from the beginning and always looked like they would end up on the podium. At the start of the 10km run, they were well out in front with just the Frenchman Vincent Luis for company. Luis couldn’t last the pace however, and fell out of contention (eventually being overtaken by the South African Henri Schoeman who claimed bronze).
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Alistair and Jonny had worked in close proximity to each other during the swimming and cycling legs, but with about half of the 10km run to go Alistair kicked on and opened up a significant gap on Jonny. Such was the huge gap between them on the closing straight, Alistair was able to cross the finishing line at walking pace. A remarkable Rio 2016 continues for Team GB, as they carry on their battle with China for second place on the overall medal table.