Brownlee considers Ironman

Alistair Brownlee has admitted his pursuit of a third Olympic title in Tokyo hangs in the balance as he contemplates stepping up his bid to claim an Ironman world crown.

Brownlee will bid a temporary farewell to Olympic distance triathlons after he has competed in the European Championships at Strathclyde Country Park today.

The 30-year-old, who has suffered a series of minor injury setbacks since finishing out of the medals at the Commonwealth Games in April, is due to compete at the half-Ironman world championships in South Africa next month.

Brownlee told Press Association Sport: “Tokyo is 50-50 at the moment.

“Going into next year I’m going to start deciding whether to look at the Olympics, or whether I’m going to focus on doing the longer stuff over the next 18 months.

“The full Ironman is potentially not too far away. It depends on the decision I make going into next year.”

Brownlee indicated his desire to explore longer distance races after retaining his Olympic title in Rio, and made an immediate impression, winning on his halfIronman debut in Gran Canaria last year.

But his injury problems have hampered his progression this year, having been forced to pull out of the World Triathlon Series race in his home city of Leeds in June, and Glasgow represents the ideal opportunity to get back on track.”

Meanwhile, Jess Learmonth won her second consecutive European Championships silver medal as she finished behind former Olympic champion Nicola Spirig of Switzerland in the women’s triathlon.

Jess Learmonth: silver in the women’s event.